I'll Carry You
by FMAotaku
Summary: Strong people don't want others to carry their pain. They want to pull all the weight themselves. But what happens when strong people become weak? What do they do then? They put on a mask, and insist that they're fine. But what happens when someone sees past their disguise? What if…all they want is for someone to say "I'll Carry You"? Sequel series to 'Two of a Kind'. Ed Elric x OC
1. Equivalent Exchange

**Hello readers! PLEASE READ MY STORY "TWO OF A KIND" BEFORE YOU READ THIS. THIS IS THE SEQUEL SERIES. If you haven't read 'Two of a Kind' yet, please go on my profile and read that first. If you read this series first, it probably won't make sense. By the way, sorry this is such a short chapter. I was so excited to get out my new story that I sort of rushed. I don't think the quality of the chapter was affected though. Also, I just skipped the entire time of Wendy traveling to Xing. I just went strait to her being in Xing. I thought that it would help with pacing. I'm going to start out this series pretty slow. Please review, it really helps me. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Wendy Havoc walked through the streets of Xing. Every step she took, she felt so ashamed. She felt so…out of place. Everywhere she looked, she saw people with pale skin, black hair, and dark eyes.

She continued on anyways.

Wendy had managed to walk through the part of town where many of the little shops and vendors were.

"Buy this product! Buy it fresh and hot!" shouted many vendors, all in Xingese.

That's another thing. It had been so long since she had spoken the language, but thank goodness she remembered a good portion of it.

Suddenly, a female shopkeeper shoved a necklace in her face and yelled, "Fine jewelry! Best prices in town! Buy, buy, buy!" she yelled.

"No thank you." Wendy replied, pushing away the jewelry.

Then she politely took another look at the necklace.

It was a thin chain, with a small yellow stone charm hanging on it. The stone was beautiful. It was a gorgeous caramel-yellow color.

Wendy smiled. She had no idea why she was so attracted to the color, but she loved it. She was even tempted to buy it, but she knew that she had to save up her money as best as she could.

Eventually, she waved goodbye to the woman and continued on her way.

Her plan was to check out into a hotel for the night, and then head towards the mountains the next morning.

Her master had a large dojo-like house built into the sides of one of the mountains deep in the mountain range. It was in such a hidden location on purpose. He didn't want the wrong person to find his home.

The dojo had been passed through his family for generations. His father trained many students in the art of alchehestry, and his father before him, and his father before him. Only Wendy's master broke the chain and only trained one student at a time. Also, instead of teaching alchehestry, he preferred alchemy, which he learned when he lived in Amestris for twenty years. The dojo had many rooms, including two separate bathing rooms with different separate showers for each student.

Wendy remembered what the place looked like very vividly. She remembered where each room was, how each room was set up, and even how each room smelled.

She was very excited to see her master again. He was the only person in her childhood that cared for her after her brother died. She was shunned by her entire family (excluding Jean), and they all hated her. Her Aunt Rhaven especially.

She remembered the day she met her Master as if it was yesterday.

* * *

Wendy's stomach ached. She hadn't eaten for…three…four days? She couldn't even remember. She had completely given up. It was only a mere three weeks ago that she had run away from her Aunt. She had escaped at night, and ran as far as she could in the pitch blackness.

Wendy had somehow ended up in a strange town that she had never seen before. She was leaning up against a trash can, placed near an alleyway. Half of her body was in the light of the town, and half was in the darkness of the alley. She hoped, and _prayed_ that someone, _anyone_, would give her food, or even a small amount of money.

She had thought about stealing food or money, but when she thought it over she decided that she wasn't worth it. She didn't deserve to steal something to benefit herself. She was completely convinced that she was worthless. Wendy thought that the only thing she deserved was to die by slowly rotting away from hunger and thirst.

Then, walking along the street, she saw the man that would forever change her life.

The gentle afternoon sun light illuminated his pale skin.

Just looking at him you could see he was different than everyone else. All of the Amestrians shuffled when they walked, but he seemed to almost…float. When he walked, he was so graceful and light on his feet. At the same time, he still carried an elegant manliness to him as well. Someone could understandably mistake him for royalty, or someone of very high social status. Yet the smile on his face was humble, and soft.

He kept walking, and Wendy kept her eyes on him the whole time. When he caught sight of her, he stopped in his tracks and looked down at her.

Right before him was a little girl. She had torn, dirty clothes. Her hair was messy and knotted. And to add to that, she was just skin and bones. She had no muscle or meat on her body. She glanced up at him bitterly.

"What are you looking at?" Wendy spat.

He was surprised. Her words were mean, and cold. But her voice was sweet and innocent.

"I'm not sure what I'm looking at," he replied, "Who are you?"

She coughed. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm not going to hurt you. How old are you? Where are you parents?"

Wendy didn't say a thing. She didn't know this man, nor did she want to. She picked up a small stick from beside her and began drawing with it in a small pile of dirt beside her.

The man watched her very closely as she drew.

He gasped, "Is that a transmutation circle? Do you know how to do alchemy?"

She wearily nodded. "Yes. My brother taught me some."

"If you're not going to tell me about yourself, will you at least tell me what you know about alchemy?" he asked happily.

"Yeah, sure. I don't know very much. But I can do this." She said.

She lifted her hands, and clapped. There was a small bolt of blue light, and the pile of dirt sculpted into the shape of a dog.

"That's all I know how to do. I've been trying to learn what transmutation circles do, but I haven't quite figured it out yet."

His eyes were wide, and slightly scared. "You can transmute without a circle?" Then he lowered his voice and narrowed his eyes, "What happened to you?"

She frowned, and lifted up her right sleeve.

The metal of her arm glinted.

His face tightened, and his eyes softened.

He knew exactly what happened.

"My name is Enlai Liu, but from now on you will call me Master, or Sensei." He said firmly.

Wendy nodded, and then coughed. A thin line of red liquid streamed down her chin.

He bent down and scooped her up into his arms. Her body was so fragile, and light.

It wasn't like Wendy could refuse to go with him. She was too weak to fight him, plus she was only twelve years old.

So, her master eventually brought her to Xing, where she trained until she was fourteen. They grew very close over the two years they spent together. She learned a lot about alchemy, and even some things about Xingese culture. Her master treated her like she was his own daughter. He'd never gotten as close to any of his students as he did to Wendy. He was the missing father figure in her life, and it helped fulfill her need for a loving dad. He had always wanted a child of his own, but he never found a wife. So, Wendy made him happy as well. He was heart broken when she left to go back to Amestris. However, she knew that he would welcome her back into open, loving arms.

* * *

She soon found the place she was looking for. The hotel. It was a deep lavender building with a faded golden frame.

Wendy walked into the front lobby. It smelt like cleaning supplies and good food.

She strolled up to the front counter and smiled at the woman.

She smiled back. She looked like a typical Xingese girl. She did, however, look a bit young to be working at a hotel. She couldn't be older than sixteen. Her raven hair was pulled up into a simple updo, which was decorated with small sparkly pins.

"Hello. Welcome to the "Pride of Xing" hotel! How may I assist you?" she asked, grinning.

"I'd like to rent a room for one night. How much will that be?" Wendy said.

Then Wendy furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait…were you just speaking in Amestrian?"

The woman grinned even wider. "Yes! I immediately recognized you as an Amestrian. I don't know very much of the language, but I know some. I've always been fascinated with their culture. It's my dream to visit there some day. What is it like there? By the way, my name is Kim."

Wendy thought for a moment. "I suppose it's a nice country. But recently there's been a lot of corruption and conspiracies brewing. If you're going to travel there, I'd suggest not doing so for awhile."

"Hmm. That's interesting. I've always thought of it as a calm, happy country. Anyways, please fill out this paper so I can get you a room." Kim said, now speaking Xingese.

Wendy scribbled her name on the paper, and filled out a few other things. She paid her with the little bit of Xingese money she had on her, (All the rest of her money was Amestrian) and then grabbed her key.

Kim told her her room number, and then waved goodbye.

_This isn't so bad…is it? Xing seems really nice. Hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow I'll be with my Master. It's going to be exciting to tell him all about what's happened since_ _I__ returned to Amestris. _Wendy thought.

She came to her room, and struggled for a few minutes trying to find out how to use her odd-looking key to unlock the door.

When she was finally able to get it open, she slowly walked in and smiled. The room was mostly of a beige and white color scheme, and there was a small bed in the middle of the room.

She flopped down onto the bed, and her head hit a small, slightly hard object on her pillow. She sat up, and examined it.

It was a small circular piece of chocolate wrapped in shiny golden foil. On the foil was the Xingese character that meant "Welcome".

Later on in the night, she ordered a small plate of food, took a bath, and then turned into bed early.

She tried falling asleep fast, but her mind kept her awake.

Wendy still tasted Edward on her lips.

She growled and shook her head violently. She ran her hands through her messy hair. Her ring got caught in the tangled strands, but she managed to pull it out.

_I'm not going to think about him. I'm not. _

Then, her eyes started leaking, and she let out muffled whimpers as she dug her face into her pillow.

She missed him. She missed his golden eyes. She missed his laugh, his smile, and his warmth.

All she wanted in the entire world at that moment was to cuddle in his arms.

But she knew she couldn't.

A heavy pain throbbed in her chest.

She might never be able to be with him, ever. No matter how hard she tried, it was a great possibility that they could never see each other again. She knew this all too well.

And it killed her inside.

But that was a price she might have to pay.

Equivalent Exchange.


	2. Protector

**Hello everyone. I worked very hard on this chapter, so I hope you like it. I just _love _the little part about the sunrise in Xing in this chapter. :) Also, just a warning, there is going to be a HUGE time jump in the next chapters or so. It may not seem like a big deal, but it is. For the purpose of pacing, I will skip through a very long time. So, just be prepared for that soon. The next few chapters will take a bit longer to write, because after the time jump I have to do A LOT of research. I will have to basically re-watch the last few episodes of Brotherhood so that I can get every single detail correct. Please review, favorite, etc. Thanks for reading. :)**

* * *

It was about 1:00 in the morning, and Wendy was too anxious to stay in bed. She was going to head to the mountains to find her Master as soon as she could.

Even though she took a bath last night, she decided to wash up again today.

Her bare feet dipped into the warm water. She usually had it at a higher temperature, but this time she decided that she would keep it a bit cooler.

She took off her clothes, and slid into the bath tub.

Wendy then plugged her nose, and dove under the water, opening her eyes.

Suddenly, she saw Edward's face right before her.

He blinked, and then smiled.

She screamed, and lifted her head out of the water.

"What the hell was that?" she shouted, breathing heavily.

It seemed like ever since she had left Amestris, she saw him everywhere.

Wherever she looked, she saw his face. She randomly heard his voice. His name kept repeating in her head over and over. Wendy was tired of it. She didn't want to be tortured anymore. She wanted the suffering to end.

She wished she hadn't fallen in love with him.

Wendy got out of the tub, and quickly wrapped a towel around herself. She walked back into the main room and flung open her suitcase. She rummaged through it, and finally found a black pen. She took off the cap and held out her left arm. Wendy then pressed it to her soft skin.

She slowly wrote in Xingese on her arm, making sure to press the pen down very hard to make the lines thick and dark.

Wendy dropped the pen once she was done writing. She looked at the words.

It said "There's no going back now."

Maybe that would motivate her to keep pushing forward.

Maybe it would just scare her.

Either way, she knew it was the truth.

There was no going back now.

* * *

Wendy had left the hotel about an hour ago, and hadn't yet made it to the end of town where the range of mountains started.

_I should've left earlier. If I hurry, maybe I'll still make it to the dojo before dark. Or, at least, somewhere I can sleep comfortably tonight. _She thought.

She started running, her heavy boots slapping against the ground.

The sun hadn't yet risen, and it wouldn't for many hours. It was almost pitch black outside still.

Wendy ground her teeth, and sped up. Her brown hair whipped all around, flying into her face.

_"You're in love with Edward Elric."_

_ "You're in love with my brother, aren't you, Wendy?"_

_ "Do you really love Ed?"_

Alphonse, Jean, and Truth's words filled her head.

"Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!" she shrieked, falling to the ground. She repeatedly slammed her automail fist onto the ground.

She wrapped her arms around herself, curling up into a ball. Thank goodness most people in town were still asleep, and didn't see her like that.

Wendy shakily got back up, and balled her fists.

"DAMN IT!" she yelled, and continued running again.

Sweat formed on her forehead, ran down her face, and dripped off of her chin.

Her legs felt like jelly, threatening to give out any minute now. Her feet ached, and her whole body was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

She tied her hair up, and stopped running for a moment, letting the gentle breeze cool her off.

* * *

The sun had risen a few hours ago. The sunrise is Xing was breathtaking, especially when you were in the mountains to see it. It was a plethora of wonderfully blended tints of orange, yellow, and fuchsia. Xing's morning air was a bit foggy, and of a faded color, but the sun seemed to pierce through the town with such a bright brilliance of a hopeful light. It was a true source of faith that polished the humble, dusty streets of Xing. The sunrise was like a secret gift for anyone who woke up early enough to see it.

Wendy sighed. She hoped that this was all worth it. She didn't exactly have a back up plan. It was possible that she wouldn't be able to find her Master's house. It was also possible that if she did eventually get there, that he wouldn't be taking anymore students, and was retired. There were so many possibilities of things that could go wrong.

She looked down at her left arm.

There's no going back now.

Wendy nodded, and kept going.

* * *

She kept walking the entire day, not stopping once to rest. It was then the late afternoon, and she had little food or water on her. Her mouth was dry, and she was desperate for a drink.

Her dehydration began making her mind go numb. She couldn't think strait, or walk in a strait line. Wendy had no clue where she was going, nevertheless if she was going the right way. Her body started getting chills, and then her stomach churned. Suddenly, she leaned over, and vomited onto the ground beside her.

Her body now felt shakier, and weak.

Her eyesight went black, and she collapsed to the hard ground, passing out.

* * *

Wendy's eyes flittered open.

She was lying in a flat bed, which was low, and near the ground. It had white sheets, and a small pale green blanket rested on top of her.

She sat up, and looked to her right. There was a small wooden table, with pathetically tiny legs. On top of it rested a stuffed toy, which Wendy recognized right away.

It was a little orange fish, with brown stitched eyes. It was the toy her Master had given her when she was twelve. When he first started training her, she used to have violent night terrors, and would scream and panic in her sleep. He had hand made it and given it to her as a gift. He said it would keep her company, and guard her at night. She called it Baohu zhe, which meant 'protector' in Xingese. She loved it very much, and would sleep with it every night.

Why was it next to her, anyways? Where was she?

"Ah, so you're awake." A voice said.

Wendy looked up, and standing right before her was a man with light, smooth skin. His hair was a dull black, with a few strands of dark grey. Stubble dotted his chin. His eyes were a light brown, and were soft and delicate.

"Master!" Wendy screamed, and leapt out of bed and tackled him with a hug.

He laughed heartily, and hugged her back.

"Wendy-san…why did you come back? When did you come to Xing?" he asked, raising his brows.

"I came back just yesterday. How did I get here? All I remember was being in the mountains, on my way here." Wendy said.

"I was walking, and found you, unconscious. I believe that you passed out from dehydration. What were you thinking, doing some so foolish like that? You could've died if I hadn't found you. You idiot!" he said, his face turning stern. She blushed, and lowered her head in shame.

"I'm sorry, Master. I didn't think that I needed to bring water. I thought that I could make it all the way here without it. You're right. I was foolish."

He sighed. "I can't believe you're back." He murmured, smiling.

She laughed. "I'm so happy to see you again, Master."

"So, why are you here? I'm guessing that you aren't just here to visit. What is your purpose for coming all the way back to Xing?" he asked.

She grinned, and stood up straighter. "I respectfully request to return under your acquaintanceship! Will you accept me once again as your student?"

He was confused. "What? You want to be my student again? But you already completed your basic training. Why would you want to start training again?"

"I want to take my alchemy a step further. No, actually, I want to take it all the way. I want to be the best I can be, and I refuse to return to Amestris until I can perform to the best of my abilities. Please train me. I _need_ to get better." She explained firmly.

Master Liu just said nothing. He just looked blank.

Then Wendy noticed something. This entire time he never once looked directly at her while they were speaking. He kept his eyes to the side of her. Before, he would always keep strong eye contact with her. Why wouldn't he look at her now?

"Master…why won't you look at me? You haven't kept eye contact with me this entire time. Is something wrong?" she asked.

His body winced ever so slightly.

That was another thing. Before, he would _never_ show weakness or body language that said he was sad or hurt. But just then, his body responded in an obvious signal of sadness.

"Master…what happened?" she whispered.

He lifted his head. "Well, Wendy, the reason I'm not looking directly at you is because I can't see you."

She gasped. "Wait…are you saying that…"

"Yes," he interrupted, "I'm blind. I haven't trained any students since you left. When you were my student, my sight was already bad. Over time, with my age, I've become completely blind, and can no longer see a thing. Just darkness."

Her eyes softened. "That's awful. But…how did you find me unconscious, then? How could you find me without being able to see?"

"I still have my limited sense of chi. So, I could sense you. You remember what chi is, right?"

"Uh, yeah," she answered, "That's the constant flow of energy which flows and connects through all things. It's the base of alkahestry. Right?"

He nodded. "That's right. As you know, I know only a small amount of alkahestry. But I do know enough to be able to sense a person's chi, which is the flow of energy inside of them. I sensed a familiar chi while I was walking, and eventually recognized it as you. I followed my senses and was led to you."

Wendy smiled lightly once again. Her Master was truly amazing.

It was silent for awhile until she spoke up again.

"Could I go to the shower room?" she asked.

"Of course. I'll get some food ready. Don't worry, I'm still able to cook."

They both nodded and Wendy headed out of her old room and into the massive hallway. The ceiling was looming at least thirty feet above her. The occasional painting hung on the beige walls.

She turned right, which led into a smaller hall, and then left into the women's shower room. It was also a gigantic room.

One half of the room to the left was entirely showers. At least ten individual showers for individual students.

The other wall was half mirrors and sinks, and the other half was a large bath tub. At the very end of the room was another humungous bath tub, the size of a swimming pool.

This room brought back so many pleasant memories.

Wendy remembered going on her day off (one day out of the week) to this room when she was younger. It was the only day she could do anything she wanted besides training. The shower room was the place she visited most often besides going outside.

She could spend hours upon hours running around that room. She would hide in the shower stalls, swim in the baths, or just take a pad of paper and some pencils to draw while she sat on the cold tile floor.

She grinned, and tore off her sweaty clothes. She strolled over to the shower on the very end, and turned the silver knob. She latched the small door behind her. The cool water cascaded down her sweaty, warm body.

She laughed, and rejoiced. There was nothing quite like taking a shower after a long, hot day.

* * *

Master Liu slowly pulled towards the kitchen. There, he started preparing a beef broth to make soup. His beef and vegetable stew was one of Wendy's favorite dishes, so he knew she would enjoy it.

He peeled some vegetables, and threw them whole into the boiling broth, careful not to cut himself.

Then, silent tears streamed down his face.

He hadn't cried since he was a child.

He was now fifty seven years old. Master had never cried recently, even when he lost his sight.

He cried because he couldn't see Wendy. He couldn't watch as her face lights up when she's happy. He couldn't see her smile, or observe how much she's matured and grown.

He would never be able to see his loving student ever again.

Master Liu was at first confused why exactly he was crying.

Then, he started thinking about it.

Out of all of the students he's ever trained, _she _was the one who had the biggest impact on him. He had gotten her her own room in the dojo; and he had kept all of the things from when she was younger.

She was special to him.

Truly, he thought of her as his own child. His own flesh and blood that he could raise, and teach, and watch grow.

But now, without his sight, he couldn't do that.

He couldn't be much of a father to her anymore. Master Liu couldn't always be there for her when she needed it. He was very old. None of the males in his family had made it past fifty years old before himself. He was now fifty seven, and had already lost his sight, and some of his hearing.

He didn't have much time.

Master Liu never had a wife, so he had no child, or inheritor to the dojo. After he died, there was no one to take it over. And he couldn't just let his family's legacy go to waste. It would be foolish, and dishonorable.

_She_ was the only one who could do it. All of his past students had other worries, or weren't even in the country anymore.

He was going to have to pass down his dojo to Wendy. That meant that she would have to stay in Xing for the rest of her life, training students in alchemy.

Enlai stirred the broth and vegetables thoughtfully.

How was he going to tell her the news?

* * *

Wendy turned the shower off, and wrapped herself in a towel.

She looked down at her left arm.

The black ink streamed down her skin.

She looked up around the room.

Her body went limp, and she fell to the ground. Chills ran up and down her spine.

Wendy realized then that she was going through the worst possible torture. She was being deprived of the one she loved. Her other half was ripped away from her, and possibly will never reconnect with her ever again.

She licked her lips.

Edward's taste was gone.

She slowly blinked.

Then, suddenly, she shot up from the ground, not caring how weak she was from dehydration.

"I'll come back to you, Ed. Someday. And that's a damn promise." She said aloud.

She promised that she would return to him once again. No matter the costs, she would track him down.

And whenever that day would be, she would be ready.

Ready to face the truth.


	3. A Golden Sunset

**Hey everyone! Here's an early chapter! I hope you like it! :) Its pretty long, so I hope you enjoy it. Please review, favorite, and such. Thanks for reading. God bless. :3**

* * *

Wendy woke up early the next morning in order to do something she knew she had to do. She really didn't want to, but she knew that if she didn't, it would make her cousin very sad.

She tied her hair up into a bun. It wasn't something she did very often, but she decided that she needed to keep her hair out of her face. Also, it was a very common style for women in Xing, so she deemed it appropriate.

Wendy was still wearing her blue silk pajamas as she galloped through the colossal halls, to be able to get to the telephone. They had beautiful Xingese style designs on it. They were actually men's pajamas, which she borrowed from her Master.

She sped around a corner, almost falling over. She rushed down the small hallway, and then turned once again, almost running into the telephone that stuck out from the wall.

With fast hands, she dialed the numbers she knew by heart.

She lifted the phone to her ear and listened to the low humming. Eventually, she heard a voice pick up on the other line.

"…Hello?"

Wendy couldn't speak. Just hearing his low, familiar voice made her want to cry.

"…H-Hi Jean. It's Wendy." She whispered, careful not to wake up her Master.

"OH MY GOSH! WENDY!? IS IT REALLY YOU!?" Jean shouted. Wendy laughed.

"Of course it's me. How has everything been in Amestris?"

"Things have been…alright. Nothing's quite the same without you…I really miss you…" he mumbled.

She held back tears. "I miss you too. Everything is going good here. I made it to my Master's home just fine."

Wendy knew that that was a lie. But she definitely couldn't tell him about how she collapsed from thirst and almost died. She didn't want to make him worry anymore than he already was.

"So, everything's fine? That's nice. Have you learned anything new yet?" he asked.

"Well, I haven't officially started my training yet. Right now I've just been settling into my room and everything."

Jean lightly chuckled. "You already sound so mature."

Wendy smiled, and then there was a long silence.

"So…do you want to talk to Ed or Al?" Jean said.

Her eyes widened, and she almost dropped the phone. "W-what? Are they still in Central?"

"Yeah," Jean replied, "Actually, they got into some trouble recently. They ran off and tried exploring some old abandoned laboratory and ended up almost getting themselves killed. They're both in the Central hospital."

Her face went pale, and started shaking. "WHAT!? THOSE IDIOTS! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?"

"I'll call you back on a different phone. Then I'll put them on the line." Jean said simply.

The phone made a long beep noise, signaling their call had ended.

"Damn it…" she mumbled, and sunk to the ground.

What kind of trouble were they getting themselves into? She had only been gone for a couple weeks, and they were almost killed.

The phone rang, and Wendy jumped up to answer it.

"Hello?" she asked uncertainly, pressing it to her ear.

"Hey, Wendy."

It was Edward.

She trembled, and tears filled her eyes.

"Wendy…why…did you leave…without saying goodbye?" Ed asked, his words coming out shrill and choked.

"I'm so sorry, Ed. I…I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it…" she whispered, barely audible.

Wendy heard muffled noises on the other end of the phone that sounded like crying.

"Ed…? Are you okay? Jean told me that you and Alphonse were in the hospital. What happened to you two?"

There was a short silence, and then Ed started speaking.

"We needed answers. Al and I did some research, and concluded that we needed to search the abandoned 'laboratory five'. Unfortunately, some people didn't want us to be there, so it was locked up pretty tight, and had a few guards. Al and I eventually were able to defeat them, but I was hurt pretty bad. Then, some homunculi showed up, and soon the place was blown to bits. Luckily we all got out in time. I almost didn't but one of the homunculi, Envy, saved me. I'm not sure why, but apparently 'they' need to keep me and Al alive. I heard something about how we are 'important human sacrifices'."

Wendy let out a shaky breath. "…Homunculi? Like, _real_ homunculi? As in, artificially created humans?"

"Yes. And I'm under the assumption that there's a lot more of them. They're real. I have no clue how it's possible, but we think that there is one person that is creating and controlling them all. This isn't good at all, Wendy. They're very powerful, and extremely hard to kill. I don't know if we can beat them."

She almost fainted. She took a deep breath, and clenched her fist. She had to stay strong.

"That's crazy. I've read about homunculi in books and such, but I didn't know that it was actually possible that they were real, and living. Ed…you need to take your younger brother out of there. Don't get tangled up with them. Since they allowed you to live, I think that means that someone is planning something big. _Very_ big. And I think that it's going to be awful. You need to get out of there while you still can." Wendy said, struggling to keep her voice even and collected.

"No, Wendy," Ed said, "You _know_ that we can't leave. I have a feeling that these homunculi are the answer as to how Al and I can get our bodies back, without having to use a Philosopher's Stone."

She couldn't keep it together. So she lost it.

"YOU DUMB ASS! YOU ARE GOING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED! YOU CAN'T DO THIS ALL ON YOUR OWN! DAMN IT, ED!" she screamed.

Ed just listened to her struggling to not cry.

"Wendy…" he murmured, "You have to trust me. That's all I'm asking you, is to trust me. Trust that I'm making the right choices. If I get myself killed, that's my own damn fault. But there is no way in _hell_ that I'll let anyone hurt Al. Just trust me."

Wendy exhaled, and looked down at her ring. The round sapphire shimmered.

"Ed…I know that you will protect Al with your life. I have no doubt about that. But…who will protect you?" she whispered.

Ed sighed. "I'm not worth protecting, Wendy. Al goes first. It's my fault that he's the way he is. I'm not going to be selfish and care about myself. I'm just not worth it."

Her face turned pink, and she ran her hand through her bangs.

"Caring about yourself doesn't make you selfish. You can't just go about your life protecting everyone else and not thinking once about yourself. That's just dumb. And, _never_ say that you're not worth it." She growled.

"So you're saying that I only care about and protect others, but refuse to do so to myself? Well, maybe you should take your own advice, Wendy. You should try dropping your barriers for once, and let someone protect _you_. You carry too much weight for one person. Accept human kindness, and don't just love others. Let others love you."

She kept silent. No one had ever said something like that to her in her entire life.

…Did she really block everyone out?

Did she really put up barriers?

"Think about that. Goodbye, Wendy." he said, and then hung up the phone.

Wendy hung the phone back up, and then sat back on the ground. She curled up into a ball. She was too confused and anxious to cry.

She suddenly heard hushed footsteps against the hard tile, coming near her.

"Wendy. What are you doing up so early?" Master Liu asked.

She lifted her head, and smiled weakly at him. "Sorry, Master. I wanted to make a few calls. I didn't mean to wake you."

He grinned. "Don't worry, you didn't wake me. I'm an early riser."

Suddenly, he balled up his fist and swung it at her, which she barely dodged.

Wendy didn't expect that, but she should have seen it coming eventually. He was obviously testing her reflexes and combat skills while she was vulnerable.

"Hya!" she cried out, kicking at him. He jumped up, and then threw a kick at her too, which she dodged more confidently.

She began laughing, and swung a few more punches, none of which came even near hitting him. Her Master might have been blind, but he still was faster, stronger, and more skilled than her.

Sparring gave her such a rush. Some people got stress relief from yoga, or drinking tea. But when Wendy was sad or angry, all she needed to relieve herself was to spar.

She clapped her hands, and transmuted her automail into a sword. This was a trick she learned from Ed during their fights.

Since he couldn't see what she had just done, she explained while they were fighting.

Master Liu smiled, very pleased with her work. He had never thought of transmuting automail into a weapon during battle.

She swung her sword at him, and he responded by diving at her feet, grabbing onto her ankle, flipping her over onto her back.

He waited until Wendy caught her breath. She leapt back onto her feet, and swung at him.

He was obviously going very easy on her. If he was fighting at his full potential, she would have been knocked out within seconds. They both knew that he was just trying to give her a chance at winning.

They punched and kicked, jumped and landed. They continued fighting for ten minutes, until Master Liu knocked her back down.

He chuckled. "I think we're done for now. Would you like to start our alchemy lesson?"

Wendy nodded wearily. "Yes, Master."

"Since you're under apprenticeship again, you need to go change into your robes. Come meet me back here when you're done." He said.

She grinned, and then transmuted her arm back to normal. She ran all the way to the locker rooms, which was where he kept the extra robes.

Wendy swung open the door, and entered the room she hadn't been in since what seemed like forever. There were three rows of lockers, with benches to sit on in between them.

She meandered over to the very back of the room where there was a small closet. She opened it and rummaged through the robes, trying to find the right size.

She settled with a medium. She lazily slipped it over her normal clothes, and tightened the cloth belt to fit snugly around her waist.

Wendy dashed back to her master, eager to begin her lesson.

* * *

Oddly, the lesson ended with Wendy rubbing her forehead in frustration. The entire lesson was extremely confusing. Her Master insisted that everything would make sense soon, in their next few lessons.

Her head throbbed, and she was starving. It was late afternoon, and she decided to take a brief walk outside while Master Liu cooked dinner.

She wandered through the dojo, and finally made it to the very front room, where she was met with the gigantic front door. It was made from a heavy, dark wood.

Wendy struggled to heave open the massive door.

The hazy afternoon light peered through the crack. She smiled, and walked out into the crisp winter air.

She walked over to the very edge of the flat part of the mountain that the entrance sat on. She rested her hands on the railing, where there was a forty foot drop below her.

Wendy beamed, letting the breeze blow through her hair.

The mountains were gorgeous at this time. They were a dull ashen color. Each mountain interconnected with another at their base, all each shaped uniquely in their own way.

Behind them was the dazzling sunset. Instead of being a mix of pinks, oranges, and yellows like before, it was now a mixture of delicate golds.

The same fiery shade of gold as Ed's eyes.

Wendy sighed, and started crying. She wasn't crying because she was sad. It was the exact opposite, actually.

She was crying because she was happy.

Before, she regretted meeting Edward at all. She thought that meeting him and falling in love just complicated things in her life even more, and made things so much more painful.

But, now, standing on the edge of that mountain, with the breeze cradling her soft light skin, she realized that meeting him was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Love was the most confusing, odd, crazy, and wonderful thing ever.

When she was younger, she dreamed of someday meeting her prince charming, and living happily ever after.

As she grew older, she realized that that wasn't going to happen.

Ed was no prince charming, and she was definitely not a princess.

But, she loved him.

That very feeling by itself was pure ecstasy.

Being with him made everything bad that she experienced in her life completely worth it.

She closed her eyes.

Maybe someday.

* * *

While Wendy was chewing on a piece of potato, she heard the loud ringing of the phone echo through the halls.

"I'll get it." She told her Master, getting up from the dinner table and rushing out of the room to answer it.

He laughed as he heard her almost trip while running.

She raced to the phone. She quickly picked it up and answered.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hey." Edward returned.

"What's up? I was in the middle of dinner. What time is it in Amestris? It's 8:00 p.m. here."

"It's 11:00 a.m. here. Sorry for interrupting your dinner." He said.

Wendy smiled. "It's alright. So what did you call for?"

Ed sputtered, and she heard what sounded like Al's laughter in the background.

"I-I just wanted to call to say…that…"

There was more laughing in the background.

She heard Edward yelling at Alphonse to shut up.

"Are you still there?" Wendy asked.

"Uh, yeah," Ed said, "Well…never mind. I don't remember what I was saying. Just remember to write letters to me and Al as much as possible. We might not always be able to call you. Just sent your letters to Central and they can forward it to us wherever we are."

"Okay, I'll write as much as I can. May I speak to Alphonse?" she asked.

There were some fuzzy noises, and then Al spoke into the phone.

Wendy and Alphonse talked for a few minutes, and then Wendy said that she had to go.

"Awe…okay. Bye Wendy. Remember to write soon! We miss you!" he chirped happily.

"Bye, Al. I miss you guys too. Tell Edward I said goodbye."

"Alright. Hey, Brother, Wendy says goodbye!" Al shouted to Ed.

Alphonse started laughing and teasing Ed, and there was some more yelling in the background.

"Yup, Ed _definitely_ misses you. Bye Wendy!" he said, hanging up the phone.

Wendy was confused what all of that yelling and teasing between Ed and Al was about. She also didn't understand why Ed wouldn't tell her the _real_ reason why he was calling. But, she just brushed it off.

She shrugged, and walked back to the dining room to finish her dinner.

* * *

"AL! She probably thinks I'm an idiot now! That was embarrassing!" Ed shouted, grinding his teeth.

Alphonse couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm sorry, Brother, but _you're_ the one who is acting like and idiot. You should have just told her at the beginning what you really called to tell her."

Edward blushed furiously.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just calling to check on her and to remind her to write." He insisted.

Al laughed more. "You don't fool me for one second, Brother. When are you going to tell her your _real_ feelings?"

He turned three shades redder. "I have no feelings for her," he said, looking away.

"Why won't you try saying that while looking me in the eyes?" Al suggested.

Ed stood up straighter, and looked his younger brother directly in the eyes.

"I…I don't have any feelings for…" he tried saying.

He quickly looked away. "I don't have any feelings for Wendy."

Al laughed hysterically. "See!? You can't look me in the eyes!"

Ed crossed his arms. "Shut up, Al. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Okay. Whatever you say, Brother." Al replied.

Edward laid down and turned over in his hospital bed.

_Has Brother still not yet realized his feelings? Or is he still too embarrassed to admit them? _Al wondered.

Then, he was convinced that it was the second one.


	4. Thank You, Master

**Hello Lovelies~! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Also, I would like to mention about a visitor review I got from Ritamustang14. She said that in her opinion, Jean Havoc (Wendy's cousin), would probably not be that happy about her romance with Ed. And I totally agree. Jean seems like the type of very overly protective sort of guy towards his family. I had thought about that before, but I had no clue about how to incorporate it into my story. So, thank you for the suggestion, Ritamustang14. I put it into consideration in this chapter. :) Anyways, just another reminder to all my readers of this story. If you haven't read "Two of a Kind", this story won't make sense. Please read that first. Thanks for reading. Please review, favorite, etc. :)**

* * *

Master Liu crept quietly down the halls of his dojo.

It was 2:00 in the morning, and Wendy was still in bed, sleeping. He was still awake, so he decided he should go check on her.

His shoes scraped lightly against the hard tile as he turned the corner. He continued, and then came to her door.

Master Liu set his hand on the knob, and peered into the room, turning on the light.

He was struck by an awful scene.

Wendy's blanket had been knocked onto the floor. Her face was bright red and she was sweating furiously. She gritted her teeth together.

Suddenly, her back arched up violently, and she let out a small yelp.

Her arms and legs started thrashing around, and she screamed loudly.

Master Liu rushed over to her side, and held down her arms and legs to the bed.

"Wendy! What happened!?" he shouted, but Wendy's eyes stayed shut.

She groaned, and breathed heavily. Her body eventually relaxed a bit, but a pained expression was still on her face.

Then, she started mumbling. He leaned in to hear what she was saying.

"Don't kill him…please…don't kill him. Take me instead…please…"

Master Liu furrowed his brows.

"My prince…I'll give my life for him…he is innocent…take me…" she finished.

He decided he had enough, so he firmly grabbed her shoulders, and shook her awake.

"Wendy! Wendy!" he called, and her eyes slowly opened.

Wendy moaned, and sat up.

"Duibuqi shifu. Nandao wo shui zai wei shi yi wan?" (Sorry Master. Did I sleep in too late?) she asked in Xingese, groggily.

He just stared at her, in awe.

"No…you're fine. It's only 2:00. But…I came in here to check on you, and you were screaming and talking in your sleep. Did you have another nightmare?" he said.

Master Liu hated when she had her sleep terrors. He remembered when she was younger, when he first started training her. He remembered wandering the halls at night about to head to his room to go to sleep, and then hearing piercingly loud shrieks coming from her room. When he had made her her stuffed fish to comfort her at night, it didn't help very much, even though she loved it. He had then tried to comfort her himself, by whispering in her ear, or by patting her on the back. But she would just respond by yelling, and punching at him in her sleep. There was nothing he could do to stop the trauma she went through when she slept.

It was awful seeing her like that, even now that she was more grown. Even though he couldn't actually _see_ her. But, he could hear her yells, and the creaking of the bed from her thrashing around.

"Oh…okay. Sorry. Yeah, I had a nightmare. You don't have to stay with me. You can go back to your room." She said, offering a smile.

He smiled back, "I'll go make some tea. And then you're going to tell me about your nightmare. Okay?"

She frowned, and sighed. "Alright."

He walked out of the room. Wendy flopped back onto her bed.

She _hated_ when her Master made her do something she _really_ didn't want to. But she knew that she couldn't argue with him. His word was always the last word.

She glanced to her right, and saw her stuffed fish on the table next to the bed.

Wendy smiled, and grabbed it. She snuggled it onto her face, feeling the soft fabric on her cheeks. She put it to her nose, and sniffed. It smelt the same as she remembered it.

It was not only stuffed with stuffing, but also tea leaves. Her Master did this on purpose, because he knew that she loved the calming scent of tea.

She pressed it to her chest and hugged it.

"Baohu zhe." She whispered, grinning.

Wendy just laid there for awhile, letting the calming scent of tea waft up to her nose, until she heard footsteps in the hallway.

She quickly sat up and threw Baohu zhe back onto the side table.

It would save her the embarrassment of her Master walking in and seeing her cuddling with a toy.

Master Liu nudged open the door, and walked in, carrying a tray with two cups of tea on it.

He handed Wendy her cup and then took his own.

"Xiexie, shifu." (Thank you, Master) she said, beaming.

He laughed. "You don't always have to speak in Xingese. I can speak Amestrian just fine."

She blushed slightly, lifting the tea cup to her lips. "I just wanted to see if I knew how to speak it. I haven't spoken Xingese in awhile."

He took a sip. "You're doing very well. You just need to work on your pronunciations."

"Hey…what kind of tea is this? I've never had this kind before. Is it a new recipe of yours?" she asked, gazing into her cup, watching the light brown liquid slosh around.

"Yes. I call it Qiangjing de zi tea. It's flavor was inspired by you." He replied, smirking.

"Really?" she asked, "It was inspired after me? Wait…what does 'Qiangjing de zi' mean?"

Master Liu's eyes softened. "It means 'strong child'. It's ingredients are: tea, honey, sugar, lemon juice, tangerine juice, mandarin orange juice, and ginger. I thought that those ingredients reflected your personality. The honey and sugar for your sensitivity, and the citrus fruits for your bold strength. The ginger was supposed to represent your intelligence."

Wendy laughed. "You're so kind."

A few minutes later, he said, "Well, I came in here so we could talk about your nightmare. So, tell me what happened."

She frowned, and then explained her nightmare. She told him that it started out with her sitting on a huge thrown. She was wearing an elegant dress, with an exquisite tiara resting on top of her head.

Wendy told him about how sitting next to her in a matching thrown was a handsome prince, with flowing blond hair. They were happy together. They were about to lean into each other to kiss, but then they suddenly heard the screech of the ceiling above them crashing in.

"About twenty assassins rained down from the ceiling. They were all armed with large swords. They're eyes were icy cold. They all started charging towards us, and then began attacking. I tried fighting them, but it was difficult because, for some reason, my alchemy wasn't working. However, I was still able to fight them off, and none of them were landing a single hit on me. All of a sudden, I heard screaming from the prince, and I looked over, just to see him pinned against a wall with an assassin's knife against his throat. I was so scared. Then the man who was holding the knife against him started speaking, and said that the assassin's weren't there to hurt me. They just wanted to kill the prince. My heart was racing, and I didn't know what to do. Then, I just got down on my knees and started begging them to let the prince go. I told them that I was willing to sacrifice myself if they let the prince live. They still refused to let him go. I was terrified, and continued begging. I _did not_ want the prince to die. Then, at that point, you woke me up." Wendy finished explaining.

Her Master stared at her curiously. "That's interesting…so you don't have that same dream as before anymore?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Just recently I stopped having that dream and I've been having strange dreams in replacement. I'm not sure what they mean."

That was a lie. Wendy knew exactly what they meant.

The prince in her dream was obviously Edward. And she, as the princess, was obviously devastated that her love was at the brink of death.

She hated dreaming about Ed. It made everything worse. Every time she saw his face, she always melted under his golden-eyed gaze. Her heart always throbbed the next morning when she realizes that it was just a dream.

"What did the prince in your dream look like? Did he look like someone you know?" Her Master asked.

She blushed, and looked down. "No. I've never seen that man in my life."

He narrowed his eyes. He could tell she was lying, but he didn't say anything about it.

He got up, and stretched. "Alright, I'm going to go to bed. I suggest that you do the same. I'll sleep in a nearby room incase you have another nightmare, I'll be near to help you."

Wendy smiled. "It's okay. You can go back to your room. I'll be fine on my own."

He nodded. "Goodnight then."

As he was walking out of the room, Wendy stopped him.

"Wait," she called from her bed, "I need to ask you something."

He turned around and stared at her expectantly.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Shifu, ai shi zhenshi de ma?" (Master, is love real?) she asked.

He smiled.

"Of course it is. If it wasn't, humans would be miserable. Love is the greatest thing a human being can experience in all existence." He told her, "Once you find love, hold onto it tightly and never let it go."

Wendy smiled back, and nodded. Her Master left the room, and she sat there, thinking about his words.

* * *

Edward shifted in his bed. He still had to be at that dumb hospital. He and Al didn't know what they were going to do next. He had been told that he had to stay at the hospital for awhile longer, for his wounds to heal.

But he knew he and Al had to figure out their next move.

An empty food tray was on the table next to his hospital bed. There was also a full bottle of milk, left untouched.

He scowled, and then turned back forward, sighing.

Edward heard someone walking outside of his hospital room, but he just assumed it was a normal worker.

However, someone opened the door and stomped into the room.

It was Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc.

Wendy's cousin.

Jean shuffled over to Ed's side and crossed his arms, looming over him.

"Um…hey Lieutenant Havoc. What're you here for?" Ed asked. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Hello, Edward. Don't call me Lieutenant Havoc. Call me Mr. Havoc." Jean said bitterly, his blue eyes hard and angry.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Okay…so what are you here for?"

"You seem like a good kid, Ed. But I swear, if you treat her badly, or break her heart, I'm going to murder-"

"Huh?" Ed interrupted, "What are you talking about? Treat _who_ badly?"

His reply just made Jean angrier.

"I'm talking about Wendy! I promise you, Edward. If you hurt her in anyway, you'll regret it. I will come after you, and you will wish you were never born."

Edward's face turned a dark tomato red. "W-what do you mean? She's not even here! She's in Xing! I would never hurt her!"

Jean growled. "Don't play stupid with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about. She loves you with all of her heart. And if you treat her wrong, I'll kill you."

Ed's palms started sweating, and his whole body felt numb. Did he hear what he thought he just heard?

"…D-did you just say that she loves me?" he mumbled, feeling his heart race.

Then Jean started blushing once he realized his mistake. "…Oops. I guess I wasn't supposed to tell you that…"

Ed's heart skipped a beat and then he started feeling warm tingles spread throughout his body. Everything around him seemed to stop. It was as if the whole world was frozen in place.

Jean scratched the back of his head, and then turned around to walk out of the room.

"I warned you, Ed. If you don't plan on fully dedicating your love to her, then back off. She deserves only the best." Jean called over his shoulder, closing the door behind him.

Edward was still shaking.

Then he smiled.

Then he started laughing.

Soon his loud laughter was echoing off of the walls.

"Yes!" he cheered, jumping out of his bed.

He danced around and pumped his fist into the air.

"Woohoo! Yes! _Yes!_"

Eventually, after he got tired of celebrating, he sat back in bed.

He grinned widely, and looked out of the window.

The sun was shining, and was outlined by a bright blue sky.

Things were finally looking up.

For the first time in his life, things were finally happy again.

Ed then promised himself.

He was going to get his and Al's bodies back, and then the next thing he was going to do was tell Wendy how he felt. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, but he _knew_ in his heart and soul that _she_ was what was going to make him the happiest.

Wendy was his sunshine.

And he was desperate for her warmth.

She was the only one who would be able to melt his icy heart.

_She was the only one._


	5. Lost Child

**Hello readers! Sorry it took awhile for this chapter to come up. The reason it took so long is because I seriously have been going through the ****_worst_**** case of writer's block I've ever been through. I already have the ending and a few other chapters planned out, but I'm stuck on how to guide the story into that direction. Oh well. Thanks for being patient, everyone. By the way, I know I promised a HUGE time jump sometime in the next few chapters, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. I wanted to have a chapter that gave a bit of depth into character development/background story. So, basically, this is a 'filler' chapter, which is almost entirely a flash back to Wendy's past. WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME GORE. If you are uncomfortable to read graphic gore scenes, then I'd suggest not reading this chapter. It doesn't really contribute to the actual plot, so you won't miss anything if you skip it. The scene I'm warning you about isn't ****_that_**** bad, but some people might find it uncomfortable. *Sigh*. I don't like writing gory or sad chapters. I prefer writing fluffy, happy chapters. Anyways, please review, and enjoy. Thanks. :)**

* * *

Wendy weakly lifted her spoon into her mouth. Master Liu wanted to ask her what was wrong, but decided to say nothing.

She was in deep thought. Wendy hadn't done any self reflection for a long while. She hated thinking about her past. It would just cause her pain.

But today, she decided that she was going to be strong. She knew that she needed to confront her past traumas. If she didn't, then that would just make her weaker. In order to move on, she had to face her fears.

Even if it meant traveling to the deepest, darkest memories of her childhood.

* * *

Wendy sighed, and twirled her pencil around in her hands.

She quickly scribbled down some alchemic equations in the margin of her notebook.

The "Welcome to Sixth Grade!" sign from the beginning of the year hung at the front of the classroom.

"Wendy! Can you tell me what the definition of 'audacious' is?" the teacher asked.

All eyes turned towards her. Wendy sunk down in her seat.

She obviously wasn't paying attention. She hated English class the very most out of all of her classes. Wendy was _convinced_ that her English teacher, Mr. Romney, absolutely despised her. Then again, she was convinced that everyone despised her. Not that she wanted friends anyways.

"Well? Can you tell us the definition?" Mr. Romney sneered. She just stayed silent, and started wringing her hands together.

"No," Wendy mumbled, "I'm not sure what it means."

Snickers spread around the classroom. Even Mr. Romney seemed slightly amused.

He crossed his arms, and stood up straighter. He then slowly strolled over to her desk, which made her sink down into her chair more.

Mr. Romney bent down and examined her notebook.

"You're supposed to be writing notes on our vocabulary words. This isn't math class," he said while gesturing to the equations, "So, pay attention."

He walked back up to the front of the classroom and continued writing definitions on the board.

The other students' laughing and whispering didn't stop though. Wendy glared at one of the girls who were giggling beside her. This just made her laugh harder.

Wendy didn't let this bother her. It was just about every single day that she was laughed at for something. There was no escape from the humiliation. She thought of it as a dark, bottomless pit.

She just continued writing equations for the rest of class. When it was time to go home, she leapt out of her chair and raced out the door.

Usually at the end of class, Mr. Romney would ask her to stay a few minutes after school, just to lecture her about respecting adults and paying attention in class. She wanted to skip the lecture for today and just get out of school. As fast as she could.

She darted through the halls, pushing people out of the way as she ran.

Wendy burst through the door, and then jogged away from the school.

Rain drops pattered on the ground, and tangled in her hair. Her arm ached, but she just ran faster.

She stopped in the middle of the road, and rested her hands on her knees, panting.

She didn't care whether or not she was run over by a car.

She couldn't care less either way.

Wendy truly had lost all hope of being happy.

She had forgotten how to smile. She didn't know how to laugh. It had been forever since anyone had said "I love you" to her.

Her body and mind were constantly under intense stress. She was rejected and shunned at school, and verbally and mentally abused at home.

And she felt like she couldn't do anything about it.

She was terrified to tell_ anyone_ about what her Aunt does to her.

So Wendy just kept quiet.

She ran out of the street and then started walking down the sidewalk to her house, passing many stores as she went.

As she walked forward, she passed a jewelry shop, and then for some reason, stopped to look in the window.

About ten or twenty gorgeous rings sparkled behind the glass. Each unique in its own way.

One in particular that caught her eye, however, was a beautiful ring with a thin band that weaved around a small diamond. Engraved in the metal were two smaller diamonds.

Wendy didn't know why she was so mesmerized by it, but when she pressed her face up against the window, the corners of her mouth pulled into a smi—

Suddenly a laughing couple burst out of the store door. It was a woman with dirty blonde curly locks and brown eyes, and a man with black hair and blue eyes. The man held the woman around her waist and pulled her closer. They were grinning, and the woman looked down to admire her ring. The couple glowed happily, and then kissed.

Before, Wendy had always looked the other way when couples showed public affection. But then, she felt a small leap in her chest when she saw the man and woman.

They looked so _happy. _

They looked like they had forgotten all of the evil of the world. They seemed happy and content in their own little world. Like they knew a secret password to a place no one else besides them could go.

Now the woman, realizing that Wendy was staring at them, looked over, and smiled and waved.

Wendy offered a weak smile in exchange, and lifted her right arm, waving.

The woman looked at her sympathetically when she caught sight of her automail. Then, the couple waved once again, and walked off.

She sighed, and then continued home. Thank goodness her Aunt wasn't that particular on what time she got home after school, or she would've been in trouble.

* * *

She stomped up onto the front porch of the house.

It was a two story, which was a deep burgundy color. It had a wide porch, and four large rectangular windows, and a low roof.

She opened the door, and stepped inside, greeted with the sour smell of cigarette smoke.

Her Aunt coughed, and waved the smoke away from her head. She was sitting in her favorite beige arm chair. The left arm of the chair was stained with a small pool of red.

"Hello Wendy." She spoke.

Wendy just looked down, letting her bangs cover her face. She walked up the stairs towards her room.

Her Aunt cleared her throat loudly, making her stop in her place.

"Well, that isn't anyway to treat your family, is it? You could at least say hello."

Wendy clenched her fists. What she _wanted_ to say was something along the lines of: _'You aren't my family. You're disgusting.'_

But instead, she replied with, "Oh, sorry. Hello, Aunt Rhaven."

Rhaven grinned. "That's better. Remember your manners next time. Now you can go up to your room. Change into your pajamas and then come back down here. I need to talk to you."

Wendy swallowed, but just nodded, and jogged up stairs.

She slammed the door to her room, and took off her clothes. She slipped on a white t-shirt and black and green striped pajama bottoms.

Tears leaked out of her eyes, as she untied her shoes. She knew _exactly_ what her Aunt wanted to 'talk' about. Her Aunt hadn't done it for a few weeks. It probably meant she wanted to rid herself of some stress by taking it out on Wendy.

She left her room, and slowly walked down the stairs, hearing her Aunt humming happily.

Aunt Rhaven gestured for her to sit down in her chair. Wendy did as she was told.

Her Aunt walked back into the kitchen, and finished sharpening the knife she was going to use. It was her favorite knife. A medium meat-cutting silver knife with a wooden handle.

"So…Wendy," her aunt started speaking, walking into the living room, "Your English teacher called me on the phone today. He said that you weren't paying attention in class again, and that you're still failing his class. Is that correct?"

She nodded, wringing her hands together.

"Yes, that's correct."

Aunt Rhaven frowned, and shook her head.

"That's not good. You should work hard to get a good education, and stop spending all of your time studying that 'alchemy' crap. You should be punished for being so irresponsible."

Wendy continued crying, but just proceeded to go lie on her stomach on the coffee table in the middle of the room. She lifted up the back of her shirt, and her body tensed up.

"I wish I didn't have to do this," Rhaven said, walking over to her, "But when you need to be punished, I will punish you."

"You don't need to punish me like _this_. There's other ways you can discipline me." Wendy stated, her whole body trembling.

"No. I have to do it like this." Her Aunt replied.

Rhaven smiled mischievously and then touched her bare back lightly with the tip of the blade.

"I'm sorry, Wendy. I really am." Rhaven whispered.

Then, she forced the blade into the skin of her back.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" Wendy desperately screamed, echoing off of the walls.

Her reaction just entertained her Aunt, so she dug the knife deeper and deeper.

"AAAAHHHH! AAAHH! AAHHH!" she howled.

Aunt Rhaven hysterically laughed, and grinned wider and wider.

The pain was awful. The knife was literally going deep into her back. Blood stained the coffee table, Wendy's shirt, and her Aunt's hands.

Once she had gotten enough amusement, Rhaven pulled the knife out of her back, and lifted the blade to her face, watching the blood drip.

"I hope you've learned your lesson." She sneered, but there was no answer.

She looked at Wendy, who had passed out, like usual. The blood from her back was spurting out, and spilling onto the floor.

Rhaven casually went to the linen's closet and took out a large wrapping bandage.

She took the white cloth and wrapped it around Wendy's torso.

But she wasn't tending to her wound in a loving way.

She was only wrapping a bandage around Wendy so she could stay alive and be there for the next time she wanted to cut her.

That's all Wendy was to her. Just a doll that she could play with.

Not a human at all.

She didn't even really consider her a doll. She thought of her as a _monster_. She has told Wendy many times that the reason she hurt her was because she needed to avenge John's death. That she needed to 'slay the beast who was responsible to murdering such an innocent young man.'

And that's exactly what Wendy felt like.

A monster.

* * *

Wendy woke up in her bed, with a familiar pain spreading through her back.

She cried, and cradled her head in her hands.

She was only twelve years old.

And she was miserable.

She sat up in bed, looking outside of her bedroom window.

It was just starting to get dark outside. Moths flew outside of her bedroom.

Then she decided she'd had enough.

Enough for once and for all.

Wendy jumped up, not even stopping for clothes. She unlocked her window, and escaped into the night.

* * *

She sighed.

"What are you thinking about?" Master Liu asked.

Wendy looked up from her soup and smiled at him.

"Oh, nothing. Just some things. By the way, I love you, Master." She said.

Master Liu smiled. "I love you too."

"Qing zhuan dao chuan hao yifu suoyi women keyi de xunlian." (Now, go get dressed so we can continue training.) Master finished.

She grinned.

"Okay."


	6. Shadows

**Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoy chapter six. Most of this chapter is an exact dialogue to dialogue recreation of the beginning of the 49th episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. (Well, not all of it. Most of it, though.) So if you haven't seen all of Brotherhood, or at least some of it, you might not understand some of this chapter. Warning: Contains Brotherhood Spoilers. Read at your own risk. I did this because I wanted to show my readers about where in the actual series the story is at right now. Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood characters and dialogue are owned by Hiromu Arakwa. Anyways, as I promised, I included my HUGE time jump. I jumped past an entire year's worth of time. As expected by such a big time jump, Wendy has changed a bit. (Not her personality, just her appearance.) So, I hope you enjoy. Please review and favorite. Thanks~!**

* * *

Wendy Havoc, the former Sapphire Alchemist, stood on the edge of a large mountain, looking down at the gorgeous Xingese scene below her.

She was a beautiful, refined woman at the age of just fifteen.

The white ribbon tied loosely in her hair flew in the breeze.

Her bright crimson colored hair was pulled in a high bun, her long bangs parted to the right of her face.

She was wearing baggy black pants, which stopped at her ankles. She had a black jacket that was worn loosely over long strips of white linen around her chest. A long white ribbon was tied around her waist, and she gripped a large curved sword in her left gloved hand. A mask of thin black cloth covered her mouth and nose and tied around the back of her head, which left her cheek bones and eyes exposed.

Her icy eyes pierced into the cold air.

Wendy wasn't the girl she was a year ago. Or, at least, she didn't look like it.

Her eyes had gotten narrower, and focused. Less round, and innocent. Her muscles on her stomach, arms, and legs had gotten firmer and more defined. She wore her alchemy gloves all the time.

Her hair was a deep red, the color of blood. She had decided to dye it to symbolize her time spent training in Xing.

Her blue eyes provided a great contrast to her red hair.

Over time, Wendy had become more self-disciplined. She bottled up her feelings even more now, in hope that all of her past emotions left lingering from Amestris would disappear.

She hadn't talked to Edward in months.

They had exchanged letters for a little while, but then they lost all contact, too caught up in their own troubles.

But that didn't mean that Wendy didn't love him anymore.

She loved him more than ever, and she missed him more than anything.

But she decided to take a different approach. Instead of crying over him when no one was looking, she was going to make him her motivation to keep going.

She would be willing to die for him.

But she was going to breath for herself.

She knew that Ed wasn't her reason for existence. She was destined for greater things than just loving him.

But she still loved him.

Wendy took a deep breath, and exhaled.

Her soft lips brushed up against the cloth of her mask.

She suddenly lifted up her mask, and placed the blade of her sword between her teeth, and then leapt off of the mountain.

She slapped her hands together, while flying through the air.

Using her alchemy, the ground underneath her rose up, and caught her from landing far below.

She stood firmly on the edge of the small hill that had formed, her tight black flat shoes scraping against it.

Despite the confident look on Wendy's face, her entire body was sweating and shaking.

_It was coming_.

What Ed had warned her about in his last letter.

The promised day.

* * *

Pride sniffed the air in disgust, his small nose twitching, and his violet eyes narrowing.

"I know that smell." He said, and looked forward.

Right in front of him was the Fullmetal Alchemist himself.

"Tell me something, Edward," Pride said, "Do you think your father would step forward to save you if I chopped off one of your limbs?"

Pride's evil face was being illuminated by the light of the town nearby.

Edward clenched his fists.

Suddenly, Pride shot many of his shadows at Ed, which he barely dodged.

Ed leapt up out of the way, and yelled as he landed back on the ground, dodging more shadows. He kept running back further and further, because Pride's shadows kept getting closer and closer to him. His back eventually hit up against a tree, and a shadow stabbed towards his face.

The shadows broke, and Pride emerged from the dust, with a smirk on his face.

Ed growled, and looked strait into Pride's dark eyes.

Pride grinned.

Yet another shadow, one with teeth and an eye, bolted towards Ed.

"Look out!" Greed shouted.

The teeth of the shadow chopped the tree behind Ed in half, and the trunk started falling down.

He yelped, and moved to the side just before it was about to fall onto him.

Pride smiled, and looked to Greed, deciding to strike him next.

Greed quickly cart-wheeled away from his blows, eventually jumping up into a tree.

Pride wasn't going down easily. Just stood there motionlessly, controlling his shadows to continuously jab at Greed.

Greed blocked one of the shadows, and then it retreated.

He looked up to a higher branch, and saw Lanfan, crouching above him.

"Young Lord!" she called out.

Greed grinned. "Not quite. The name's Greed."

Lanfan's eyes widened. "It's you!" she growled, "Give the Prince's body back!"

"Now why would I wanna do something like that?" he countered.

Greed and Lanfan's heads turned, and saw another large shadow heading towards them.

"Oh boy! Head's up!" Greed shouted.

The teeth of the shadow sliced the tree they were sitting in into thirds, and they swiftly jumped away.

While they were flying threw the air, Greed got caught in a shadow's mouth, and Lanfan attempted to throw her shuriken at the shadow, but she felt a sharp immediate pain in her left arm, which caused her to drop her weapons.

She cascaded down, her legs catching onto a branch of a tree.

Edward ran over to the tree, and looked up.

"Are you alright!?" he called up to her.

Before she could answer, the many red eyes of a shadow came from behind the tree and surrounded her.

It chopped the tree she was in once again, and she flew to the ground, about to be caught in it's teeth.

Ed suddenly jumped and pushed Lanfan out of the way, protecting her from getting clamped into the shadow's mouth.

Lanfan and Ed both landed on solid ground.

"I didn't ask for your help!" Lanfan shouted at him.

Ed turned around. "Oh, shut up! Your arm obviously hasn't healed yet."

She gasped, and looked at her automail left arm.

"I can take care of myself!" she said.

Edward winced.

That seemed exactly like something Wendy would say.

Just like Wendy, Lanfan absolutely despised having to rely on others for help.

His heart throbbed.

He shook his head, and focused again.

"Then prove it to me and start acting like you can. We're going to need your help tomorrow." He said.

Lanfan blinked, and nodded firmly.

Meanwhile, Heinkel, the lion-human-chimera, had his arm around Lanfan's grandfather, Fu, who was supporting his weight. Heinkel was badly hurt, so Fu was helping him out.

Some shadows shot at them, but Greed stepped in the way.

"Get him out of here!" Greed commanded.

"Sorry I couldn't kill the little bastard," Heinkel said, referring to Pride.

"Psh," Greed replied, "Don't sweat it. Can't exactly fault you for that one. Even _I_ consider him to be a monster."

* * *

Alphonse saw a bright light.

"Wake up! Alphonse!" Hohenheim called.

Once he regained his sight, Al saw his Father standing above him.

Just a few minutes ago, Pride had taken over his body and soul, back now he was back.

Al sat up. "…What? Dad?"

Hohenheim smiled. "Hey."

Al put his helmet-head back on, and looked at his Father.

"So, uh…Wait. I thought you were in…Is this Conoma?"

"That it is." He replied.

Alphonse looked down. "But I was in the East...so how did I…"

His eyes widened in realization.

"That's right! Pride! Dad, the homunculus Pride…he took control of my body!"

"I know. Mr. Gorius told me all about it." Hohenheim said.

"It's Darius." Darius, the gorilla-human-chimera, corrected him.

"It was like he was manipulating my soul," Al continued, "I feel violated."

Hohenheim proceeded to tell his youngest son about the relation between him and the homunculi. Then all of them discussed a plan to defeat, or at least contain, Pride.

* * *

Edward and Greed's screams filled the air, as they were blown back onto the ground by another hit by Pride's shadows.

"Now then," Pride grinned, proud of his work, "I can see you more clearly with out those trees in the way."

Nearby, Lanfan hid behind a tree, getting out her weapons in preparation to attack.

Pride smelt Lanfan do this, so he controlled some of his shadows to surround her.

"There's not much point in trying to hide from me. I can smell each move you make." Pride boasted.

Greed groaned, his whole body aching. "Damn it. Are you still breathing over there?" he asked Ed.

Edward groaned as well, equally as tired and hurt. "Does wheezing count?"

_Jeez, _Ed thought, _If just fighting Pride is this hard, the Promised Day is going to be hell. I hope Wendy listens to my letter and stays safe._

"This isn't really the time to be worrying about others, is it, Greed? As soft as you've become, I wonder how much longer you can survive." Pride spoke up.

Greed clenched his teeth. "Shut up, you beast."

Pride's face showed no emotion. "What a horrific thing to say to your own Brother, Greed. Honestly. I might have to _eat_ you."

"I promise that I won't go down easy, Brother." He said.

Pride grinned, but then it quickly faltered when he smelled someone approaching.

"Oh. So you've chosen to show yourself, eh, Hohenheim?" he hissed.

Hohenheim casually walked towards Pride, with his hands in his pockets.

"The hero always waits until the last second to make his move." He replied.

"Hero? Interesting. You must think you can defeat me." Pride said, amused.

"No, I'd never think that. I'm not dumb enough to try to fight you." Hohenheim spoke.

Hohenheim's back was lit up from behind, and his face was stiff and concentrated.

_What could he possibly be thinking? He must be plotting something. _Pride thought.

Pride retracted his shadows and wondered what his opponent's next move was.

Hohenheim gently stepped forward, and Pride prepared himself for an attack.

Suddenly, Alphonse shouted as he ran towards Pride from behind, at full speed.

Al jumped at him, but was quickly engulfed in his shadows.

"Are you _joking_? _This_ was your pathetic plan? You should have run when you had the chance." Pride laughed, and tightened his shadows around him.

Al fell to his knees, with shadows still wrapped around him.

"Al, no!" Ed shouted, running towards his younger brother, but Hohenheim put out his arm, stopping Ed.

Edward stared at his Father. He knew that he was planning something.

Pride chuckled. "It seems as if your son _enjoys_ being held hostage. It's either that or he's supremely stupid."

Hohenheim glared at the homunculus angrily.

"That's crossing a line, Pride. Don't _ever_ mock my son." He warned.

Bright flashes of crackling red light beamed behind him.

Hohenheim used his alchemy to cut large slits in the ground, which slowly rose up into a humongous dome shape.

Alphonse grabbed Pride around the neck, and pulled him close, just to make sure he didn't escape.

The land finally formed into a huge closed dome, with Al and Pride inside of it.

"That's amazing. He actually managed to confine Pride." Greed remarked.

Edward stood there shocked, not knowing what to say.

"What the hell are you doing!? Al's trapped in there with that _monster_! How could you do something like that!?" Edward yelled.

Hohenheim turned towards his son. "It wasn't my idea. Al was the one who suggested this."

Edward's eyes softened, and he unclenched his fists.

Maybe his Father wasn't as evil and useless as he thought before.

Maybe.

* * *

Even after they had lost contact, Wendy had gotten a letter from Edward recently, which she hadn't yet replied to.

She was terrified.

The letter had read:

_Dear Wendy,_

_ Sorry I haven't written to you for awhile. A lot has been going on here, in which has kept me pretty occupied. _

_ Please don't let the wrong set of eyes read this letter. _

_ This might be the last letter I ever write to you. I just wanted to get this to you as soon as possible, to warn you. _

_ To warn you to move as far away from Amestris as you can. _

_ I know that you're still in Xing, but I need you to take your Master and live somewhere in Xing that is the furthest away from Amestris that you can be. _

_ The reason I'm telling you this is because something bad is going to happen. _

_ Something called 'The Promised Day' is coming. I can't explain everything, but it's like all hell will break loose into Amestris._

_The homunculi are planning something awful that day. We aren't completely sure what it is, but we do know that it will require 'human sacrifices'. A lot of them. _

_ I don't want you to get hurt, or worse, killed. _

_ Don't you dare even think about trying to come here to save me._

_ I'll be fine. Alphonse and many others are here to help. If you come, it's very possible that something bad will happen to you. _

_ You must understand that I'm just trying to protect you. _

_ I know you don't like to have others protect you, but I'm begging you to do this one favor for me. _

_ Stay away from Amestris._

_ Please don't let me down._

_ Sincerely, _

_ Edward Elric_

When Wendy had first read the letter, she didn't know how to react.

She didn't know whether she should break down and cry, or start packing to move.

She was especially emotional at the part of the letter that said "_This might be the last letter I ever write to you._"

Wendy sighed, reading over the letter once again.

"Xianzai wo gai zenme ban?" (What do I do now?) she asked her Master.

She had come in from outside a few minutes ago and was asking him what she should do about the letter.

Master Liu frowned.

He still hadn't told her yet.

He still hadn't told her about how she is going to have to stay in Xing and inherit his family's dojo.

Wendy looked at him expectantly.

However, Master Liu knew very well now how much Wendy loved Edward.

So, he just didn't have the heart to tell her the news.

"You must do what your heart tells you. What is your heart saying, Wendy?" he asked.

She thought for a moment. And then confidently answered, "I have to go back there. I know it's probably going to make Ed very angry, but I have to. I can't just leave all of my friends to die. Maybe I can do something, or help out in some way. I've been training for over a year now. I truly believe that I can perform my alchemy very well now. There must be something I can do to help. Millions of innocent lives are at stake."

Master Liu bit his lip.

He had two choices.

To either force Wendy to stay in Xing to inherit his dojo and continue his family legacy and also risk the love of her life dying, or to let her go to Amestris and cease his family's legacy so that she can risk her life to save others.

He knew which choice was right.

Master Liu loved Wendy more than he did his family's legacy.

He wanted her to be happy.

"Okay then," he finally said, "Pack your bags. You're leaving tonight."

Wendy smiled bitter sweetly.

"Goodbye, Master. Thank you for training me. I promise that I won't let you down. Someday I'll come back, with Edward by my side. That's a _damn_ promise." She whispered, wrapping her arms around him.

He hugged her back, and tears ran down his face.

They let go, and Wendy jogged down the halls to her room to pack. She adjusted her mask, and ran faster.

She grabbed a small leather bag which she threw some clothes and food into.

* * *

Standing at the front door of the dojo, Wendy smiled, hugging her Master for one last time.

"Zaijian fuqin." (Goodbye, Father.) she murmured.

With tears in his blind eyes, Master Enlai Liu heard Wendy's quiet footsteps patter away.

"Wo ai ni! Wo hui dengzhe ni!" (I love you! I will be waiting for you!) he shouted.

Then Wendy Havoc, the former Sapphire Alchemist, daughter of Harrison and Stacy Havoc, sister of John Havoc, and cousin of Jean Havoc, was off to her home country.


	7. Fullmetal Hearts

**Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. I blame that on nothing but my laziness. I hope you like this chapter. Please review and favorite, it's really appreciated. If you really like my fan fictions, then you can check out my Deviant Art page. My username is Smosher777. There's a bunch of awesome Wendy Havoc extras on there. Anyways, I included some lyrics of the song "I'm Coming Home" by J. Cole. I do not own these lyrics at all, all rights go to the rightful owner. I included these lyrics at the beginning of this chapter because I think it's such a beautiful song, and also because I think these particular lyrics can symbolize Wendy returning back to her home country (Amestris.) I hope you enjoy this chapter. Again, reviews are appreciated!**

* * *

I'm coming home.

I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming home.

Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday.

I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes.

I'm coming home.

I'm coming home.

Tell the world that I'm coming...

home.

* * *

Wendy sensed it in the air.

She could _smell_ it right when she entered the country.

She was on the train on her way to Central. Right when she passed over the line into Amestris, her stomach churned, and she had an awful feeling that hung heavily over her.

What had changed since she was in Amestris? Why did the scenery…and the _people_, seem so different?

Yes, it was true that she hadn't been in Amestris for over a year's time, but something just seemed so…_off_ about the country.

The air smelt of must and burnt rubber, and it seemed like every person she passed stared at her with judging eyes.

And that wasn't even the weirdest thing.

During her time spent training, her Master had not only taught her more about Alchemy, but also gave her an introduction of alchehestry, which was basically the Xingese version of alchemy.

The basis of alchehestry was a concept known as the "Dragon's Pulse", or chi. Chi is supposed to be the force that connects all things in the universe together.

Her Master had trained Wendy enough so she could slightly sense chi when she really focused.

Now that she could sense chi, one of the things she was capable of was to be able to sense living presence, without even opening her eyes. Living presence, human or otherwise.

While she was on the train, she could sense the chi of people.

Many, _many_ people all scrambling beneath her feet, underground.

_There couldn't possibly be that many people underground. I sense thousands and thousands of souls. There couldn't possibly be…_ Wendy thought.

Then, a friendly-looking man approached her, interrupting her from her thoughts.

"Hello," he said, walking up to her seat on the train, "I couldn't help but notice your hair style and attire. Are you from Xing? However, I thought people from there only had black hair and dark brown eyes. How interesting…"

Wendy looked up at the man, brushing her long bangs out of her face. She silently noted that she needed to cut them before they got too long.

"Actually, I'm from Amestris. I just came back from Xing, though, where I've been training for a year. It seems like so much has changed since I've been here…" Wendy trailed off.

The man chuckled. "You've got that right. A lot has been happening the past year. A lot of crime and murders in Central. Awhile back, there was even a man who was systematically killing state alchemists. Apparently he held a grudge over all state alchemists, because he was ishvalan. A lot of really powerful and popular state alchemists were murdered because of him. I'm not quite sure if he was caught and put in jail or not, but there hasn't been any more news about him recently."

Wendy's eyes grew wide, and she hoped that she heard the man wrong.

"Wait," she said, worry welling up inside her, "Did you say that this murderer was only targeting state alchemists?"

"Yeah," he replied, "Only state alchemists. By what I heard, he's killed a bunch of them. I believe that, in all of Amestris, he's killed fifteen state alchemists…or more."

Wendy tensed up, and her first feelings after hearing that were sympathy towards the probably innocent alchemists. Then that sympathy turned into fear.

"WAIT! Did you hear of this man killing or going after an alchemist known as the 'Fullmetal Alchemist'?" she asked, her voice cracking from panic.

The man raised his eyebrows. "Uh…I'm not sure. I've never heard of a 'Fullmetal' Alchemist. I'm not exactly the right person to ask about that stuff. Why do you ask? Are you a friend of this 'Fullmetal' person?"

She didn't answer him. She just rubbed her arms, trying to calm herself down.

The man walked away, apparently to return to his seat on the train.

Then Wendy got angry.

"Damn it, Ed. I swear, if I find out that you got yourself killed, I will find you and kill you a second time!" she seethed under her breath.

She eventually was able to calm down a bit, and kept her breathing even.

"If that ishvalan bastard even goes _near_ Ed, I will personally light his skin on fire and watch as he slowly dies from his flesh being boiled off." She said casually aloud.

A few people on the train who heard her say that, gave her uncomfortable stares, which she just ignored.

Wendy sighed, and lifted her legs up onto her seat, resting her head in her knees.

That was another thing. She was still getting used to talking Amestrian. She had talked Xingese at one time for months strait. She had now had to speak slowly, or she would mix Xingese and Amestrian words together.

Wendy's eyelids grew heavy. It was 9:00 at night. So, she decided to get some sleep, expecting her train to arrive in Central in the early morning.

Little did she know, the Promised Day, the day Ed had warned her about, would be the next day.

* * *

~A few hours later~

Edward walked slowly, and bent over, picking up his red coat from the dusty ground. He shook the dust off of it.

"Your younger brother sure got some serious guts." Jerso, the toad-human chimera said, observing the giant dome that Alphonse and Pride were trapped in which loomed over them.

Al's plan was to stay in the closed up dome (which Hohenheim made) with Pride until the Promised Day was over, just so he could make sure that Pride didn't cause any trouble.

"Trapped in total darkness with that monster. I think that I'd loose my mind if I were in his place." Darius, the gorilla-human chimera said.

"Yeah," Edward agreed, "Al's doing everything possible to keep us safe. The rest of it…"

Ed shook the dust off of his coat once again.

"The rest of it is up to us." He finished.

Ed swiftly slipped his coat onto his shoulders, and then looked out onto the horizon.

He squinted, and saw the morning sunrise peek out from the trees.

"The sun has risen. The Promised Day has begun." He thought.

* * *

~Back to a few hours earlier, about 10:00 p.m., before the sun rises~

Wendy smiled in her sleep.

She had yet another happy dream.

"May I have this dance?" Edward asked, holding out his hand to Wendy.

Wendy was at some type of party. She didn't know what the party was for, but when she looked around the large room, all she saw were couples dancing, dressed in formal clothing.

She smiled up at Ed, who had a wide, goofy grin spread across his face.

"What makes you think that I don't already have someone to dance with?" she said, with a smirk.

He frowned, but then returned to smiling. "Well obviously you don't have a date. You've been sitting in the corner all alone the entire night."

Wendy blushed.

"Well…maybe my date just hasn't showed up yet." She snapped.

Ed scoffed. "Your date sounds like a jerk. Who kind of idiot would leave a gorgeous girl waiting to dance?"

Wendy blushed, and then looked into his golden eyes, smiling.

Just then, her cousin Jean paraded into the party, dressed in a classic black and white tuxedo, which he paired with a bright orange bowtie.

"See? There he is now." She told Ed.

Jean walked over to Wendy, and smirked. "You look amazing. May I have this dance, cousin?"

"Of course you may." She said, grabbing his hand and getting up from her chair.

As she and Jean were walking to the dance floor, she looked over her shoulder, and stuck her tongue out at Ed.

Ed made a funny face in return, and crossed his arms, angrily.

Wendy giggled as Jean twirled her around the dance floor. He was a great dancer, but since he was so tall in comparison to her, the two of them almost tripped over each other a few times.

She started getting a bit tired after five minutes of dancing, until a man with raven black hair that was slicked back offered his hand, and asked for a dance.

At first, Jean was against the idea of his cousin dancing with another man, but eventually accepted it, and headed towards the buffet table.

It took a little bit of time until Wendy recognized the man she was dancing with.

"Colonel Mustang!?" she shouted in disbelief.

He laughed. "Yes, that's me. The one and only Flame Alchemist."

"Why are you dancing with me? Isn't this a little…weird?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Not really. I saw a pretty girl who was dancing with a loser, so I decided to rescue her."

She laughed.

Laughing felt so nice.

"My hero. Thank you for rescuing me." She said.

Roy craned his neck, and looked to the very back right corner of the room.

"Who's that?" Wendy asked.

"What?" Roy said, returning his attention back to her.

"Who's the girl you keep looking at in the back corner? You've been looking in that direction almost the entire time we've been dancing. If you want to dance with her, go do it." She said.

Roy blushed. "What are you talking about? That girl is Riza Hawkeye. She works with me. I can't dance with her. Besides, I'm dancing with you. I can't just leave you alone."

"Don't play stupid with me. It's obviously that you like her. Go talk to her. Ask her to dance. Don't be a chicken." Wendy teased.

"I'm not a chicken! Fine, I'll go ask her to dance! But if she rejects me, I will tell her that you dared me to do it." Roy snapped.

Wendy laughed. "Fine with me. Now go ask her!"

Mustang did as he was told, and proudly strolled over to the back corner where Riza was.

Wendy couldn't hear what he was saying, but she saw Roy extend his hand.

Riza smiled, and gladly accepted a dance with him.

Wendy laughed, and started to head to the back of the room to rest after all of that dancing.

However, a stranger asked her to dance. To be polite, she agreed and started dancing with him.

After that, more and more strangers asked her to dance with them. One by one, they kept coming.

About an hour later, she was absolutely exhausted.

She rejected the next person, and dashed towards the back of the room.

While she was running, she slammed strait into someone, which knocked her onto the floor.

"Ouch," she groaned.

She looked up and saw the person she bumped into.

_Of course_ it was Ed.

The two alchemists laughed, and Ed helped Wendy to her feet.

"Well, that wasn't very nice. That really hurt. You should watch where you're going." He scolded her.

She blushed. "I'm sorry."

He smirked, and passion blazed in his eyes.

"To make up for bumping into me, I think you at least owe me a dance." He said.

Wendy pretended that she didn't want to dance with him, but really, he was the one she was waiting to dance with since the party started.

The music that was playing turned to a different song. It was a classical music piece, which was slow and beautiful.

_Perfect timing, _Wendy thought.

They walked out into the middle of the crowd.

Ed put his automail hand onto the small of her back, and held her automail hand with his normal one. Wendy rested her left arm on his broad shoulder, and intertwined her right hand fingers with his left hand ones.

They gently swayed.

They didn't dance in time with the music.

They danced with the sound of their beating Fullmetal hearts...

Which beat together.

* * *

The rising sun bled through the train window, and woke Wendy up.

She stretched, and hummed the music that she danced to in her dream.

She yawned, and got ready to get off the train, assuming that it had pulled up to Central by now.

Wendy looked out the window, and squinted into the bright morning sunrise.

The Promised Day was here.


	8. We'll Fight Together

**Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. I hope that you find that it was worth the wait. I've been waiting to write a chapter like this for a long time. Wendy is just so incredibly bad-ass in this chapter! I love it! I hope you like this chapter. Reviews and favorites are appreciated! Also, on my profile, I provided all the links to all of the fan-art that was drawn for Two of a Kind, and this story, I'll Carry You. Check that out if you'd like. They are all so amazing. ****(This chapter is mostly based on episode 51 of Fullmetal Alchemist" Brotherhood). **Enjoy~! :) 

* * *

The hopeless screech of sirens wafted through the air.

Smoke rose up, and swirled around everything.

An awful stench invaded Wendy's nose.

"What the hell happened here?" she asked herself.

Then, the realization hit her like a freight train.

Her eyes widened. "It's the Promised Day!"

Without hesitation, she sprinted away from the train station and into the doomed Central city.

* * *

Soldiers and vehicles were littered everywhere.

Wendy Havoc soon found out that the entire area around the Central Command building was closed off to civilians.

"Damn it." She mumbled. She would have to find another way to get into Central. She had a feeling that that was where all the action was at. Maybe even Edward and Alphonse were inside. So she had to at least try to get inside.

There was no way she was going to let the homunculus kill everyone in Amestris in sacrifice for a Philosopher's Stone.

Not while she was in Amestris.

Wendy decided to go with a high-ground route into the Central command building. She would use the roof-tops of the surrounding buildings to get in.

Wendy dashed up a ladder built into the side of a building. When she was on the roof, she laid the blade of her sword in between her teeth, and then started running.

Her red bangs rested at the side of her face as she leapt from the tops of buildings to buildings. The rest of her hair started to come out of its bun.

Then she started thinking about how many weapons she had on herself at the moment. Since she was almost positive that that day was the Promised Day, which was supposedly the day when all hell breaks loose onto Earth, she would probably need some weapons.

She obviously had her sword, which she was now very good at using. Her alchemy was at her best, too, but she wasn't going to use it unless absolutely necessary. She had about five shuriken blades hidden inside her shirt. And, a small knife was tucked into her pants. Besides that, she had nothing else.

Wendy decided that her large sword would be the most useful of her weapons. Even if she lost it during battle, though, she could still transmute her automail into a sword.

Overall, she was mostly prepared for a raging war.

However, she was still terrified of what was going to happen.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, she was near the Central building. Soldiers lined the outside of it, and the sound of gun shots echoed in the air.

Wendy adjusted her mask over her mouth and nose. Hopefully no one would recognize her just yet.

Suddenly, she jumped off of the building she was on, and grabbed onto a window railing on the side of the Central building. She carefully took her sword from between her teeth, and jabbed at the window, causing it to break.

She swiftly swung in through the window.

Her left hand burned, and she realized that she had been cut by the breaking glass, pretty badly.

Wendy just tightened her alchemy glove on her hand, and looked around the room.

She had entered just a regular old office. There was a big desk, papers strewn about, and a few filing cabinets.

All of a sudden, she heard the loud screaming of a man, which was then followed by the sound of gun shots.

She burst out the door and ran in the direction of the screams.

As she was running, two tall Amestrian soldiers rounded the corner, and stopped in front of her, pointing their guns towards her face.

"Stop right there!" one of them shouted.

Wendy leapt to the side, and gracefully jumped past them. They shouted some more, but she just continued down the hallway, at full speed.

Her stomach tightened when she heard the first shot.

They were shooting at her, and metal bullets flew beside her, barely missing her skin.

She jumped, in attempt to dodge them. However, one of the soldiers must have predicted she would do this, because they pulled the trigger and a large bullet nicked her left hip.

Wendy screamed, and dropped to the floor, writhing in pain. It was only a flesh wound, but blood still spurted from her skin, staining her clothes.

Her side felt like someone had cut a hole into her flesh, and then stuck burning salt and lemon juice inside her wound.

She groaned, and the two soldiers ran over to her, each grasping underneath her arms, violently pulling her to her feet.

"It's a girl?" one of the soldiers said, furrowing his brows.

"Who cares!? She's an assassin! She could be working with the traitors!" the other one barked.

"I'm…not…an assassin…" Wendy tried saying. The soldiers tightened their grip on her.

Her side painfully burned.

They dropped her back to the ground, and she moaned, gripping her side.

One soldier took out his gun, and softly put his finger on the trigger, the barrel pointed towards her forehead.

"At least I'll get to shoot a pretty girl." He laughed maniacally.

The deafening noise of the ceiling crashing in rang in Wendy's ears.

A massive creature dropped from the ceiling, crushing the two soldiers.

After the dust settled, the humongous creature stared at the injured Wendy, towering over her.

It was the homunculus, Sloth.

He was at least ten times the size of Wendy, or any human, in fact. He had pulsing gigantic muscles, a wide nose, and sharp teeth. He was wearing black pants, and had thick metal chains hanging from each of his wrists.

Sloth growled, (which sounded more like a groan), and then swung one of his heavy chains at Wendy.

She leapt up, dodging the blow.

He swung over and over at her, continuously getting closer and closer to hitting her.

All of a sudden, Sloth stopped their fight, and just stood there, motionless.

"Oh…" he said, his voice deep and non-human, "You aren't the female general. I must kill the female general."

Just then, a very tall woman with piercing blue eyes and long, platinum blonde hair jumped out from behind him.

"I am Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong! I am the one you are after, homunculus!" she shouted.

Wendy's eyes widened, and she slowly gasped in realization.

"That _thing _is a homunculus!?" she screamed.

Olivier nodded. "Now, get over here and fight me, you beast!"

Sloth slowly turned around, making the now weak ground shake beneath him with every step.

Olivier growled, and turned around the corner, with Sloth chasing after her.

Wendy got up, and bolted towards Sloth and Olivier.

_So, that's a homunculus? An artificial human being that is almost impossible to kill? However, just looking at that thing I wouldn't doubt it. _Wendy thought, racing down the hall.

The Major-General ran into a room, and Sloth burst through the wall after her.

"Such a bother…" Sloth said, swinging one of his chains at Olivier.

She easily ducked, and pulled out a long thin sword.

Sloth stopped moving, and just stared at her.

Wendy was about to try to do something to help her, but Olivier just whipped out a gun and began shooting at the homunculus.

The many bullets she shot didn't even faze Sloth. He just stood there as the bullets bounced off his skin.

"Hmph," Olivier said, pulling her sword out again, "I should have known that wouldn't work."

"That's far enough, General Armstrong! We have orders to shoot you, for the traitor you are!" a voice said.

Wendy turned around, and saw about twenty soldiers holding shields and guns, blocking the entrance to the room.

"Take aim, men! Fire!" the man said, and all the other soldiers prepared their guns.

Olivier dashed to the side, and hid behind a column. At the same time, Sloth swung his chains at the soldiers, scattering them in every which way.

"You idiot! You shouldn't have concentrated your men." Olivier said, running over to one of the dead soldiers, taking a bomb from on his jacket.

She pulled off the string of the bomb with her teeth, and hurled it at Sloth.

Wendy dove for cover just in time, putting her hands over her ears as it exploded.

The stench of smoke wafted in the room, and it was silent for a second.

Wendy looked up, trying to find where Sloth was. She spotted Olivier hiding behind a column, but Sloth was no where in sight, probably hiding somewhere in the smoke.

Sloth then jerked forward, and wrapped his huge hands around the column and Olivier.

"Oh look, I caught you." Sloth stated, tightening his hands around her chest, "And this time, I won't mess up."

Olivier wailed in pain as Sloth's hands tightened even more. Wendy stood nearby, not knowing whether or not to try and help her. Those soldiers back there had called her a 'traitor', so she didn't understand if that meant she was on the bad side or the good side.

Then, someone's fist planted into the middle of Sloth's face, making him let go of Olivier and then fly across the room.

Olivier sunk to the floor, taking heavy breaths.

"Hello, sister! Are you alright?" The man who punched Sloth asked her.

Wendy squinted at the man, and gasped, recognizing him. It was Major Alex Armstrong.

"Who do you think I am? Of course I'm alright." Olivier snapped.

_So, these two…are related? _Wendy thought.

"I'm just glad to see that you're okay. Now, could you tell me what the hell that is?" he asked, turning towards Sloth.

"That thing is a homunculus," Wendy said, walking towards them, "It doesn't die from bullets, so you have to find out a different way to kill it. It's apparently after your sister for some reason."

They turned to Wendy.

"A homunculus? And, who are you?" Alex asked.

Wendy smirked underneath her mask. "I'm no one. No one you need to concern yourselves with. Now, you better act fast, because I think the homunculus is going to strike again any second."

Alex Louis Armstrong, the 'Strong Arm Alchemist', raised his fists, and turned towards Sloth.

"Don't worry. I'll take this atrocity down. Come on, you monster!" He called out.

"What a pain." Sloth said, getting up.

* * *

Alphonse dragged Heinkel, the lion-human-chimera who was badly injured. Smoke and dust swirled around them, and Pride and Kimblee were standing somewhere nearby.

Kimblee had destroyed the dome Al and Pride were trapped in. Pride escaped, and attempted to kill Al, but only managed to chop off part of his armor legs. There was too much dust and smoke in the way, so both Pride and Kimblee couldn't see where either Al or Heinkel was.

Al struggled to drag Heinkel's almost dead body along because Al didn't have feet to walk, so he had to switch off from pulling himself forward and then Heinkel.

"Just leave me. Get out of here. Listen to me. Go! Quickly!" Heinkel told Alphonse.

"No way!" Al said, still struggling.

"Don't talk back to me. At this rate, we'll both die! Leave me behind. You might be able to save yourself…" Heinkel trailed off.

"I told you! Not happening! Now, think about something _useful_ instead, like, staying alive!" Al countered.

More of the broken dome crumbled to the ground, creating more dust.

"You dumb ass," Heinkel said to Al, "Think about it. We're facing Kimblee and Pride _both_! Now leave me here, and get moving."

Al gasped. "Don't give up! I swear, I'll save you!"

Just then, because his knees were supporting the weight of not just his armor, but also Heinkel's body, Al's metal knees shattered, and more metal broke off, causing Al to drop Heinkel and fall backwards.

He landed on his back with a thud.

"Oh, no!" he growled, punching his fist into the ground angrily.

"Come on, legs, move it!" he shouted, starting to repeatedly punch his own legs.

Al continued punching. "We've come too far! We can't afford to be beaten now! I won't let it happen! Mr. Heinkel, grab on! We're not giving up!"

"You brothers," Heinkel mumbled, "Are really something else. You're still determined to help another person even when you're falling to pieces yourself."

"I promised. I _promised_ my brother…that I wouldn't let anyone else die, no matter what." Al struggled to say.

Heinkel breathed slowly, each breath more painful. "I guess you're right. Wasn't it Kimblee who said that the 'true test of winning was surviving'? Which reminds me…"

Heinkel dug around in his pocket. "I have something that might be useful."

He pulled something out of his pocket, and lifted his arm. He slowly opened up his fingers, to reveal a red stone resting in the palm of his hand.

Al gasped. "Mr. Heinkel…why do you have that?"

"I happened to pick it up. I got it when Kimblee abandoned us in the mine." He said.

"A Philosopher's stone…" Al breathed, "With this we might actually have a chance at winning. But…"

"Yeah, I know," Heinkel interrupted, "These are made using human lives, aren't they? Your brother told me. He said you'd rather not use one of these to get your original bodies back. In that case, don't use it for yourself…use it to save the entire world instead."

Al gasped.

"You deserve it," Heinkel continued, "Even though they have been put into that stone, you still recognize them as people. I know… that those people…even though they're trapped in stone…they still want to fight to protect what matters to them."

Al stared down at the beautiful glowing stone in Heinkel's hand.

"Let them fight. They deserve the chance." Heinkel finished.

Alphonse clenched his fist. "Alright."

"Now, you give them hell for me." Heinkel whispered, and dropped the stone into Al's hands.

He gripped the stone firmly.

"We'll fight…together." Al spoke softly.


	9. The Battle Continues

**Hello, readers! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! It's based on some of the dialogue and actions in episode 52 of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. If you haven't watched the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series entirely, or at least up to the last few episodes, you might not understand some parts of this chapter, or my next few chapters. It helps to just re-watch some of the episodes I mention in the author's notes before reading this chapter, because it definitely makes understanding easier. :) Check out my Profile for some awesome links to fan-art for my stories, and for my Deviant-Art account, which has a lot of awesome extras about my fan fics. Please review, it means a lot! Thanks~!**

* * *

Alex Louis Armstrong transmuted many small bullets of stone, and shot them at Sloth. Just like before, this didn't affect him.

Sloth slowly stepped closer to the three of them.

Wendy took out her sword, and pointed it towards the homunculus, ready to defend herself if needed.

"I'm not finished yet!" Alex shouted, and tossed a few stones in the air. He transmuted them into bullets, and punched them towards Sloth.

This didn't hurt him, but it affected him a bit. After being hit over and over by Armstrong, it made him stagger back.

Eventually, one of the bullets hit Sloth in the head, and blood spurted down his face.

He groaned.

Olivier galloped towards the beast, and pierced her thin sword into his head wound.

"Ahh!" Sloth shouted, and shook Olivier off of him.

Olivier flew to the ground, landing on her feet. "Good. He has weak spots." She pointed out.

Sloth continued to moan, and red liquid was dripping onto the floor. Red light crackled around his head wound as he regenerated.

"Dying…I hate dying…it's such…a pain…" Sloth mumbled.

The homunculus's evil red eyes glowed with anger as he looked at the Armstrong siblings.

Wendy was about to throw a shuriken blade at him, but was interrupted by a man yelling.

"Alright, General Armstrong!" a solider said, running into the room, with another solider following behind him, "Throw down your weapon!"

_Why do these damn soldiers keep coming back to try and kill Olivier? What did she do that was so bad to make the entire Amestrian army hate her? _Wendy wondered.

"What the hell is that huge thing!?" the second soldier shouted at Sloth.

Suddenly, Sloth jolted forward, and ran over the soldiers, crushing them under his weight.

"What was that?" Armstrong asked.

"How did he run so fast just then? Before, he was walking super slow!" Wendy yelled, exasperated.

"Dang it…I missed." Sloth said.

He charged forward again, at super speed. Olivier got blown to the side as he ran past her, crashing into a wall.

"He's fast…what incredible speed…" Armstrong whispered.

"Sloth…the indolent indeed." Olivier said, holding her arm.

"Olivier!" Armstrong said, his eyes widening. Blood ran down his sister's arm.

"Do you need me to take a look at your arm? I know how to perform alchehestry. I can close the wound, but that's all." Wendy told her.

Armstrong and Olivier looked at her, just now realizing she was still there.

"It's just a scratch. Anyways, just then, did you see what he did?" Olivier asked.

"Only a blur. For him to have that kind of speed at his size, it's just-" Armstrong began.

Olivier smirked. "I know, it just keeps getting better."

"Yes," Sloth spoke up, "I am the fastest homunculus of them all."

Sloth charged forward again, now knocking over Armstrong as he sped past him.

Smoke and dust clouded in the air as he hit into yet another wall.

"Are you alright!?" Olivier asked her Brother.

He nodded, and then they all looked back to Sloth, who was busy pulling his head out of the wall.

"Luckily, he's too fast to control his movements." Olivier observed.

Just then, she stepped back, and her foot caught on a brick, and she tripped backwards, falling back onto a wall.

"No! General! Move quickly, or he'll crush you!" Wendy screamed.

Sloth darted at her, his entire body weight about to crush her into dust.

He smashed his fist at the wall where Olivier was before Wendy could anything. "Finally…I hit you." Sloth said slyly.

When the dust separated, Wendy gasped.

Armstrong had his feet propped against the wall, and was using every ounce of muscle he had to push back Sloth from his sister.

Veins pulsed from Armstrong's skin as he sweated and struggled to keep the homunculus from hurting her.

Olivier looked up at him in shock.

"HYEEAAHHH!" Armstrong screamed as he punched Sloth in the face with all of his might.

The floor crashed beneath Sloth, and he fell in.

Wendy coughed, feeling all of the dust and debris caking in her lungs.

"Alex…" Olivier mumbled weakly, looking down the giant hole Sloth had just fallen into.

Alex Armstrong had his hand rested on his left shoulder. "It's just dislocated, so I'm fine. How about you?"

She scoffed. "Just a few fractures, that's all."

Wendy was about to smile, thinking that all of the fighting was over, when she was blown back by a force pushing up from the ground beneath them.

Armstrong coughed, and looked up, seeing a large hole now formed in the ceiling.

"Olivier!" he shouted, seeing his sister sprawled out on the ground, eyes closed.

Armstrong and Wendy turned around, and saw Sloth, now standing back in front of them, with his red eyes glowing.

Armstrong stepped in front of Wendy and Olivier ready to protect them. He clenched his fist, and glared at the homunculus intently, waiting to see him make the first move.

"I'm going to kill you quickly…and then go to sleep." Sloth said, lunging at Armstrong.

"NO!" Wendy screamed.

* * *

Pride stared at Kimblee, who had blood running down his body. Heinkel, who was now in his lion form, had his large jaws clamped around his neck. Alphonse was behind Pride, wrapped up in his shadows, unable to move. Dr. Marcoh was standing somewhere nearby.

Pride shot his shadows forward, and Heinkel gasped. He quickly held up Kimblee's weak body, using it as a shield.

Pride stopped his shadows, and got no closer to them.

_He stopped…? _Alphonse thought. _He's reluctant to endanger Kimblee. But…that's not like him at all…_

"I see now," Pride said, smiling, "You humans are indeed, tenacious. However, you still have _no_ hope of winning."

Pride pointed in the distance, and started talking to Al. "You should know that my Father is just over there. But, of course, before we get to that, we are going to have to do something about your _current_ situation aren't we?"

Pride grinned, and his violet eyes flashed with evil. Looking over at Dr. Marcoh in the distance, he shot his shadows at him, ready to kill.

Suddenly, a boxy black car sped into the dirt, and swerved right in front of Dr. Marcoh. Pride's shadows bounced off the window.

The car continued speeding forward, headed straight towards Pride.

It ran head-on into him, sending him flying through the air.

It sent Alphonse flying to, because he was still encased in Pride's shadows.

Al and Pride landed onto the hard dirt ground.

The driver of the car's face was dripping with sweat and tears, and he was shaking nervously.

"I-I got you! I really got yooouuuu!" Yoki shouted, gripping onto the wheel of the car.

"Yoki!?" Al said in disbelief.

Heinkel was dragging Al and Kimblee to the car.

"Alright! Way to take him out, fuzzy lip!" Heinkel cheered.

Marcoh gasped, and looked into the car window at the terrified Yoki who was in the front seat.

"HUH!? You were the _last_ one I expected!" Marcoh said.

"I'm not going to let you guys play hero all by yourselves! I want some glory of my own, damn it! Do you hear me!?"

Yoki got closer to Marcoh's face. "How about that!? I landed a shot on the strongest homunculus of them aaaallll!"

"Where'd you get the car?" Heinkel asked.

"It's the one Kimblee rode here in. The guys who drove it here are taking a little time out."

"Okay. Well done, Dr. Marcoh." Heinkel said, loading everyone into the car.

A few feet away, Pride was slowly and weakly getting himself up.

Heinkel looked back, and Pride dove at him.

Heinkel threw Kimblee's almost dead body onto the ground, and hopped into the car as fast as he could.

"Move it, let's go!" he commanded Yoki.

Yoki slammed on the gas pedal, and the car sped off, leaving Pride in the dust.

The homunculus wasn't going to give up _that_ easily, though.

Pride shot some of his shadows at the speeding car, chopping the roof of it completely off.

Yoki was driving, and had Dr. Marcoh in the front seat beside him. Heinkel was in the second row of seats, and Al was spread out in the very back.

Yoki was now crying hysterically.

"Shut up! Quit whining and drive! I have no desire to attempt fighting that _monster_ head-on. Get us to Central, on the double. We need to meet up with Ed and get rid of this 'Father' guy before Pride can catch up to us." Heinkel stated.

Pride watched with defeated eyes as the car disappeared from his sight.

"They may well be tenacious creatures, but humans are easy to defeat." Pride said aloud, smiling.

Kimblee groaned in pain, and Pride looked back at his injured body, lying helplessly on the ground.

"Oh, that's good. So you're still alive, then." Pride said.

Kimblee just answered with another pained groan, and his eyes narrowed, ready to close.

"I think that color suits you well, don't you?" Pride commented, looking down at Kimblee's blood-stained suit. "Lions are called the 'king of beasts' for a reason. He just followed the law that says 'the fittest survive'. And, accordingly, he was able to bite right through your windpipe. One can be sure, that in _this_ world, humans are of little consequence."

Kimblee coughed up more blood, and Pride just stood above him, grinning.

The homunculus continued, "What was it that you were always saying? That you wanted to see which way the world would choose? And, here you are, dying like a pathetic wreck. It must be humiliating."

Pride's shadows separated, and slowly picked up Kimblee's dead body.

"But don't worry too much, because you will continue to live inside of me."

He continued to lift the alchemist's body towards him.

Then, his shadows devoured him, in one bite.

* * *

Wendy's ears rang, and her eyes were blurry. Her head throbbed.

She couldn't remember for the life of her what had just happened.

She looked up, and saw was the terrified faces of many Amestrian soldiers.

She saw Olivier across the room as well, looking up at them.

"What…what happened?" Olivier mumbled.

Wendy and Olivier looked, and saw what all of the soldiers were gaping at.

Armstrong had pierced a gigantic building column _through_ Sloth. The column had been shoved down his throat, and the skin from his arm had been ripped and stretched across the column.

Red crackles of light from Armstrong's alchemy still flashed around him.

Wendy gasped, and almost threw up at that sight.

"I knew he was going to come charging in, so all I had to do was wait for him." Armstrong said.

He knelt down next to his younger sister.

"Olivier, are you able to stand?"

She nodded uncertainly.

"Hey! Kid! Are you okay?" he called over to Wendy across the room.

She flashed a thumbs up, but said nothing.

Her body pained worse than it ever had for a long time. She had blood streaming down her face. She had just survived an explosion, and multiple attacks from a homunculus. Wendy was even pretty sure she had broken a few ribs…and it was only just the _beginning _of the Promised Day.

Just then, all of the soldiers that were in the room pointed their guns at Olivier.

"By the way," Olivier explained to her Brother, "There are orders to shoot me for being a traitor."

Armstrong's eyes widened. "What!?"

The two siblings then started arguing about something to do with their family legacy.

Wendy sat up, and sighed, tuning them out.

She wiped her bloody face with the back of her gloved hand, and started thinking.

How did Wendy even get caught up in all of this? All she did was come to Central and then she somehow found herself trapped in a room with a homunculus and a bunch of crazy people.

Then, her heart started to hammer against her chest.

_Where is Ed? What about Al? I haven't seen or heard any sign of them since I got here. What if they are in trouble? Did a homunculus like the one we just fought capture them? _She worried.

Then, a small smile played across her face.

_No, _she silently decided, _Ed and Al are okay. I know it. They can handle themselves just fine. _

Pictures of Edward using his alchemy to blast away a whole army of soldiers with ease flashed in Wendy's mind.

She lightly chuckled.

"Yep…they can handle themselves just fine."


	10. Teamwork

**Hello readers! The tenth chapter is finally here! I can't believe there's been ten chapters of "I'll Carry You"! That's crazy...and awesome! This chapter is mostly based on episode 55 of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, it's characters, or original dialogue. All rights of that stuff goes to Hiromu Arakawa. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I liked writing it. (Except my back was KILLING me after I was done.) I also really like the little team that has formed of Wendy, Olivier, and Armstrong. I think it's awesome and bad-ass! Reviews are very much appreciated. Enjoy~!**

* * *

Wendy's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp crackling noise.

Red light flashed around Sloth's mangled body. That means that he was attempting to regenerate.

Then, everyone in the room, including Armstrong, Olivier, Wendy, and the many soldiers, heard gun shots outside of the room.

Wendy cringed every time she heard a shot.

"We're under attack!?" a soldier asked in disbelief.

"It couldn't be…Mustang's soldiers?" another soldier wondered.

Just then, a soldier burst through the door, and collapsed onto the ground.

Another soldier slowly backed into the room, shooting at someone.

The soldier turned around, and he looked absolutely terrified.

Suddenly, a flash of white leapt onto the man, and bit into his neck, tearing open his skin.

He gave out a wail of pain, and fell to the ground.

The attacker looked up, and Wendy saw it's face.

It wasn't even human. But, it didn't look like a homunculus either. It was more like a humanoid figure, which had the shape of a man. It had only one large eyeball in the middle of it's face, and had red markings on it's back, face, and chest.

More of those _things_ then started slowly shuffling into the room, one by one. Wendy started panicking, looking for her weapon.

Her sword was nowhere in sight.

Sweat streamed down her forehead, as she nervously searched the area for her sword. She couldn't find it anywhere.

"Damn it!" Wendy cried out, as the creatures dashed into the room.

Soldiers started firing at them. Some of them fell over after being shot, but they all slowly stood back up again.

_What!? How is that possible!? They couldn't be homunculus…could they? What are those things!? _Wendy screamed in her mind.

"What are those things!?" a soldier yelled, almost reading her thoughts, "Even when they're shot, they don't die!"

"Are they soldiers from FortBriggs?" another soldier asked.

"Idiots!" Olivier shouted, hearing them talk about _her_ soldiers that _she_ trained, "How dare you compare my brave men to specimens as disgusting as those! I'm guessing that they're the same as this guy." She pointed towards the homunculus Sloth, who still had a huge column pierced through him, "The one who gives you orders must have sent out these things for an attack."

An Amestrian soldier near Olivier pointed his gun at her. "We don't know anything about these _things_, you understand!?"

Olivier chuckled, and smirked. "Well then, I guess they just don't care. It doesn't matter to them whether you know or not."

Two of the creatures jumped onto two Amestrian soldiers, tearing into their necks.

Wendy gasped, and continued to frantically search for her sword. Finally, she saw the blade glimmering behind a piece of building rubble.

She crawled over and quickly grabbed it, leaping to her feet. Thank goodness she found it in time. If she hadn't, she may not have had enough time to transmute her arm into a blade, and therefore would have gotten killed.

A soldier still had his gun aimed at Olivier.

"So, what's it going to be? My Brother and I can handle these monsters." Olivier sneered, wondering if the soldier was really going to shoot her or not.

Just then, a giant chunk of Sloth's arm tore off and fell on the ground with a splat.

Red light flashed.

Now, he was _really_ regenerating.

Wendy dashed across the room, to get to Olivier and Armstrong. One of the odd humanoid creatures dove at her as she was running, but she easily dodged him.

Right when Wendy finally made it over to them, Sloth stood up, with a giant piece of column in his mouth.

Olivier suddenly grabbed the soldier's wrist, and put the barrel of the gun to her own forehead.

"WELL!? WHAT'S IT GONNA BE!? DO YOU PLAN ON SHOOTING US, AND THEN FALLING PREY TO THE MONSTERS AFTER!? OR, ARE YOU GOING TO WORK _WITH_ US AND BRING THEM DOWN TOGETHER!? MAKE UP YOUR OWN DAMN MIND NOW!" Olivier screamed at him.

"General Olivier! Stop! He could shoot you!" Wendy screamed, about to try to attack the soldier she was talking to.

"No, kid! Stay back! She can handle this!" Armstrong shouted at her.

Wendy stopped, and slowly nodded. She was just going to stay out of this.

* * *

Amestrian soldiers poured through the ceiling.

Hanging from ropes, they lowered themselves onto the ground, landing softly.

"Monster! What is that thing?" some of the soldiers said, looking at Sloth regenerating.

"You're here! Give us a hand!" One of the soldiers that was already in the room before said.

"No. We can't do that. We're under orders to kill General Armstrong." One of the new soldiers answered.

He turned around, and saw Olivier standing before him.

He aimed his gun at her. "General! Major!"

Olivier scowled, her blonde hair draped over her angry blue eyes. "You're here just in time. FROM THIS POINT ON, I'LL BE RUNNING THE SHOW!"

She turned around. "Help us out, or we all die!"

The new soldiers nodded.

More of the white creatures from before, the mannequins, walked into the room.

"Everyone! Get down, now!" Armstrong shouted.

Everyone ducked, and he flung a heavy chain over the crowd, which knocked some of the living mannequins down.

Most of the soldiers started shooting at them. Armstrong kept trying to hit them with the chain over and over. Olivier was using her sword. Wendy stood to the side, not knowing what to do.

"Hyeah!" she shouted, dropping her sword and clapping her hands together.

She touched her hands to the ground, and used her alchemy to make the ground rise and encase at least thirty mannequin soldiers as once.

"Bullets have no effect on them! Go for their upper jaws! If we do that, at least we won't be eaten! Attack in pairs, and take out at least one! Get ready to fight, Central soldiers! Show me your courage, men!" Olivier commanded everyone.

Wendy continued to encase more mannequins. However, one managed to dodge everyone's attacks, and was heading strait for her.

She clenched her teeth as the monster dove on top of her, knocking her to the ground.

It made growling noises, and it's teeth went for her neck.

She couldn't grab her sword in time, so she balled up her fist and punched the monster right in the face, knocking it off of her.

Wendy quickly used her alchemy to fight off more of them, but it looked like there were just more and more coming.

Sloth put his hand on his aching head, now finished regenerating. "Let's see…where was I? Ah…I remember. I need to kill the woman General."

Sloth walked forward, to try to get to Olivier. However, he couldn't move. He looked down, and saw a chain wrapped around his left ankle.

Armstrong held the other end of the chain, stopping the homunculus from going anywhere.

"Oh no you don't!" Armstrong said when Sloth turned around and glared at him.

"Let go!" Sloth said, trying to pull away from Armstrong.

He then broke the chain, and flung it at Armstrong, hitting him fiercely on his left shoulder, which was already dislocated.

Armstrong growled in pain.

"This would be so much easier if I could use both arms." Armstrong stated.

Sloth swung his gigantic fist at him, knocking him in the jaw. Then he swung again and again, and soon there was a thin line of blood pouring down Armstrong's face.

Wendy sliced her large curved sword strait into a mannequin soldier's skull.

She glanced over, and saw the homunculus Sloth repeatedly punching Armstrong over and over.

"General Olivier! Go to your Brother! The homunculus is going to kill him!" Wendy screamed.

"No! Just leave him there! He's my brother, and he was trained better than to be killed like this!" Olivier snapped back.

Armstrong looked up, and glared at his sister.

"This is it. This is the end." Sloth stated, ready to hit Armstrong once last time, expecting to kill him.

Armstrong's pale blue eyes gleamed.

He turned just in time, so Sloth's hit only hit his dislocated shoulder.

Armstrong let out a loud battle cry, and lifted up his fist, which contacted with Sloth's firm lower jaw.

Sloth flew back, and landed harshly on the ground.

"Nice!" Olivier said, smiling at her Brother.

"Good Job, Major Armstrong!" Wendy cheered.

Armstrong beamed, and ran over to Sloth, who was getting up form the ground.

One after another, Armstrong hit many punches on the homunculus.

Sloth kept getting knocked back from all the punches.

Eventually, by using his alchemy, Armstrong finished Sloth off by punching his fists into the ground, causing a giant spike to pierce through Sloth's head.

"My incredible strength and the arts of my alchemy work beautifully together! You'll find them to be an uncomfortable combination!" Armstrong boasted, sparkles of pride shedding from his skin.

After she punched a mannequin soldier in the face, Wendy looked over at Armstrong and smiled underneath her mask.

* * *

What was that? I couldn't hear you." A soldier said, hunched over the phone.

All the other soldiers, Armstrong, Olivier, and Wendy were all doing their best to fight off the rest of the mannequin soldiers.

The soldier with the phone listened carefully, then his eyes grew wide.

"What!? Are you sure!?" he asked the other person on the line, obviously hearing something unbelievable.

"What happened!?" another solider came over to his side.

"The OperationCenter! It's been taken over by Brigg's forces, and they've captured General Cremid!" the soldier with the phone answered.

Olivier heard this, and ran over to the phone.

Across the room, Wendy saw Olivier shouting into the phone.

Right then, Wendy was making sure that all of the mannequin soldiers she'd encased in concrete earlier were completely dead.

Wendy dashed across the room, nervous as to what Olivier was talking about over the phone. Hopefully nothing bad was happening.

"It's getting bad out here. We have a large number of pale humanoid monsters on the loose. They're hard to kill…and worse, they're man eaters. No matter what happens, _do not_ open any gates! We can't allow a single monster out into the city. WE NEED TO DESTROY THEM. RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!" Olivier shouted into the phone.

Wendy stared at her, with wide eyes.

"Major General Olivier…what is happening at Central command? How did Briggs soldiers take over? And…_why _did they take over?" She asked.

Olivier smirked. "Mayhem is what's happening at Central Command. If you don't already know, I'm the leader of the Briggs soldiers. However, what they are doing in Central Command right now wasn't my idea. They planned that themselves. In Briggs, our most valued law is 'Survival of the Fittest'. I taught my soldiers that they need to have a brain of their own. And, if something happens to their leader (me), they can still go on themselves. _That_, is true proof of a great army."

Wendy smiled. She definitely admired how fondly Olivier talked about her soldiers.

"Okay…but I'm still confused as to _why_ they took over Central Command." Wendy stated.

Olivier smiled softly. "It's a lot to explain. I'll just say that somewhere in upper Amestris military command, some people are trying to overthrow all of the military. My Briggs soldiers are preventing this from happening. Trust me. We are on the good side."

"Oh, and, by the way," Olivier continued to Wendy, "If you're wearing that mask to keep your identity a secret, I suggest you be careful to keep it that way. If no one knows you, then that will make it a whole lot easier for the people you're teaming up with."

Wendy adjusted her mask that covered her mouth and nose completely.

"Thanks. I'll be careful." She answered.

The two of them looked around the room. There were still quite a few mannequin soldiers, but it seemed like the Amestrian soldiers were starting to get a handle on them. However, it was still pandemonium. So, Wendy ran back into the battle and gave her best efforts to destroy a large amount of mannequin soldiers.

Just then, a whole group of more mannequins entered the room.

"More!? Will they never stop coming!?" Armstrong said, exasperated.

Olivier and a soldier were back-to-back, fighting off more mannequins.

"Uh, sorry General. But what the hell are these things?" the soldier asked.

She smirked. "They are the immortal legion, as promised. They are created by placing human souls inside mannequin bodies. They are soldiers with no fear of death."

Wendy was nearby, listening to their conversation. She shook with fear when she heard Olivier's words.

_That is awful! Who in the world would take innocent souls and make them into these brainless things!? _Wendy wondered. Her fists were clenched with anger.

Just then, there were flashes of red light, which were from Sloth regenerating for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"How many times do we have to kill that thing!?" a soldier asked, looking at Sloth.

"As many times as it takes!" Armstrong answered, clenching his fists.

Sloth stood up, and used his super speed to dash forward, slamming into a wall.

"Damn it! This thing is starting to piss me off!" Wendy growled, staying close to Olivier and Armstrong.

Armstrong used his alchemy to create a spike from the ground, in attempt to slow down the homunculus.

Sloth easily broke through this, and ran to the opposite wall, sending Armstrong, Olivier, and Wendy flying through the air.

Some soldiers tried running over to them to help, but Armstrong just stopped them.

"Stay back! Olivier and I are the ones he's after. Keep your distance." He warned.

Then he turned to Wendy, who was sprawled across the floor next to him.

"You too, kid! Get out of here! I don't know who you are, but this isn't your fight! You're going to get hurt, so get out of here!"

Wendy scoffed, getting back onto her feet. "There's no way I'm leaving you guys now. I'm sticking with you two, whether you like it or not!"

Armstrong smiled. "I admire your courage."

Sloth got back on his feet, and groaned. "…Must…Kill her. She's such a stubborn woman…that general."

Armstrong stood in front of his sister protectively.

Sloth leapt forward, and a bunch of soldiers grabbed one of his large chains, and trapped him from going any further.

"Pull! Come on, everyone! Pull!" One of the soldiers yelled.

All of the soldiers pulled back, struggling to keep the homunculus from moving.

Despite their efforts, no matter how hard they pulled on the chain, Sloth still moved forward slowly.

"The three of you…run now, while you can!" one of the soldiers shouted at Armstrong, Olivier, and Wendy.

"This way! Please! Quickly! Go now!" Another soldier said, pointing at the doorway.

"You would have me run away from this? The mere thought of fleeing the battlefield in disgrace. I swear on my life that such a thing would never happen again!" Armstrong said, having flashbacks to the Ishvalan war.

Sloth struggled against the soldiers, but eventually snapped the chain they were holding him back with.

Sloth walked forward, and dove at the three of them.

There was a loud boom, and then Sloth was blown to the side of the room before he could hurt anyone.

Olivier, Armstrong, and Wendy all looked to what had blown him to the side, to see a giant chunk of concrete, obviously moved and formed with alchemy.

Still using alchemy, someone stepped out from inside the chunk of concrete, by forming a door.

Out stepped a tall woman, with light skin and dreadlock-like black hair pulled into a pony tail. She was wearing a long white coat, and she had an alchemy symbol tattooed on the left side of her chest.

Then the woman started speaking. "You refused to run. That's impressive. You're a fine man. But, then again, I've already got a man a hundred times finer than you." She smirked, and cracked her knuckles.

"And who are you?" Olivier asked.

The woman thought for a second. "I'm a female officer. _You_ must be the legendary General Armstrong then. That subordinate of yours…the one that has a Mohawk asked me to come and help you."

Olivier mumbled something under her breath. She knew exactly who sent this woman to save them. It was her most trusted soldier, Captain Buccaneer.

Nearby, Sloth stood up, ready to strike again.

Sloth dashed towards them, at super speed.

With ease, the woman with the white coat grasped him by the arm, and flipped the gigantic homunculus through the air.

Armstrong, Olivier, and Wendy stared with awe at the huge monster soar above them.

"Honey! He's coming at you!" The woman yelled, with a smirk.

A man on the other side of the room, who just appeared, balled up his fist and punched Sloth so hard it made him fly across the room, smashing into a wall.

"That was extraordinary. Who is he?" Armstrong asked the woman in the white coat.

"He's my husband." She answered simply.

They all looked at him. He was a man just about as tall as Armstrong. He had rippling muscles, black hair, and a full black beard.

Armstrong ran over to the man, shaking his hand in respect.

Just then, Sloth dashed towards them. Without hesitation, both Armstrong AND the man punched Sloth in the jaw with all their might. They continued to punch him over and over, with their combined strength.

Lastly, they grabbed him by the legs, and swung him up into the air, and he smashed into the ceiling, and then fell back down.

Sloth groaned. "Ug…it hurts…"

He tried to regenerate, but nothing was happening.

Just then, the homunculus's hand burst into dust.

The rest of him just slowly faded away, bit by bit.

"Am I dying now…for real? What is dying like…? It's such a pain…to think about it. But it's also such a pain…to live, too…"

Those were Sloth's last words, and then he had completely faded away, into nothing but a pile of black dust.

It was over. Sloth was finally dead.

Wendy exhaled.

Then, all of the pain they had ignored started to catch up with them now that the battle with Sloth was over.

Armstrong collapsed to his knees, clutching his dislocated shoulder, groaning.

"All that's left are scrawny mannequins! Get a move on and eliminate them!" Olivier commanded the Amestrian soldiers in the room. They nodded, and got to work with killing the rest of the mannequins.

Olivier sat down to catch her breath after that.

Wendy sat down, too, clutching her left hip. Her bullet wound still burned. She had other painful gashes and bruises on her body, but she would be fine for now.

Olivier turned to the woman with the long white coat. "I don't know who you are, but I am grateful for the help."

She smiled. "It was my pleasure."

Olivier continued, "With skills like yours, I'm surprised I haven't heard of you before."

The woman grinned, flattered. "My 'skills'? I'm just a housewife and an alchemist. Nothing more. You have met the Elric Brothers…haven't you? They're like family to me."

Wendy's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't breath. She almost fell over by how fast she ran over to the woman.

"Does that mean that you're Izumi Curtis?" Olivier added.

She nodded. "That's me."

"Then I'd assume that the Elrics are here too." Olivier said.

Wendy was at a loss of words. That meant they were still alive!

"T-THE ELRIC BROTHERS ARE HERE!? W-WHERE DID YOU LAST SEE THEM!? ARE THEY SAFE!? WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM!?" Wendy shouted at her, hoping that she was telling the truth.

Izumi furrowed her brows at Wendy. "I'm not sure where they are at this very moment. Who are you, anyways? Do you know them?"

Wendy was hesitant. So far she had kept her identity a secret to everyone. Should she tell Izumi her real name?

Armstrong's eyes widened in realization as he looked at Wendy.

"Wait…I know who you are! I remember a while ago Edward Elric introduced me to you! You're Wendy, aren't you?" he said, pointing at her.

Wendy sighed. She pulled down her mask, revealing her face.

"Yes. My name is Wendy Havoc. I am the former 'Sapphire Alchemist'. I was close friends with the Elric Brothers until I left to Xing. I spent a year there training to be a better alchemist. This is my first day back in Amestris."

Olivier laughed. "Well, you picked a pretty rotten day to come back to this country, huh? It wasn't the wisest decision to come back on the Promised Day."

Wendy smiled gently, and her blue eyes looked off into the distance. "Well…while I was in Xing, Ed warned me about today. I decided that I had to come here to help out as much as I can. I didn't know things were going to be this crazy."

Izumi grinned. "So…you're the 'Wendy Havoc' I've heard so much about. Al told me a lot about you. He went on and on for an hour talking about how great you are."

Wendy blushed. "Really? Well, I'm not that great. I'm just an old friend of theirs."

Izumi laughed. "I doubt that you're just a friend to them. I think you're more that that. Well, at least you are more to Ed."

Wendy's blushed darkened, and she pulled her mask back up to cover half her face.

"So, how do you know them?" Wendy asked her.

Wendy listened as Izumi talked about how she trained them when they were little kids.

Meanwhile, Armstrong decided what there next move would be.

"Alright. Now it's time to take care of the rest of these dummies. Now, tell me the truth, sister. Can you really stand?" he asked.

"Don't ask stupid questions." She sneered, standing up.

"Hold on a second. You're severely injured. You should take it easy." Izumi warned.

"Like I said before, I know how to perform alchehestry. I can close some of your wounds." Wendy said.

"You know how to perform alchehestry!?" Izumi asked, amazed.

"Yeah," Wendy grinned proudly, "Only a little bit, though. My Master in Xing gave me a few introduction lessons. It's quite fascinating, actually. Although, I'm probably the worst alchehestrist in the world. It's very different from alchemy, and it's very hard to master. I'm still learning, though."

"No. We don't have time for that." Olivier insisted, "We have to keep moving. The Promised Day isn't over yet."

"You make a very good point. My husband and I would like to help you guys out." Izumi said.

"Thanks. We'd appreciate any help we can get." Armstrong said.

Everyone turned to Wendy.

"So, are you sticking with us? You don't have to stay here. You can go find your friends and help them out. It's your choice." Olivier said.

Wendy grinned under her mask. "I said I was going to stick with you guys, and I meant it. My friends can handle themselves just fine for now."

"Also," Wendy added, "We're a team now. And a team sticks together."

* * *

**Reviews are appreciated! ^_^ **


	11. One is All, and All is One

**Sorry for this chapter taking forever to come out. I had so much to do recently! Anyways, so, the Promised Day chapters continue. I was _really_ hoping that this would be the chapter when Wendy and Ed reunite. However, it turned out to where that just wouldn't fit in this particular chapter. So, either the next chapter or the one after that they will meet again. Please be patient! The wait will be _very_ much worth it. Trust me. :) I hope you all enjoy this chapter. There is still a lot of action. Those scenes are always fun to write. Pretty soon, though, I want to go back to writing calm, fluffy chapters. This chapter is mainly based on episode 57 of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, or the dialogue from the show. All rights go to their respected owners. Please leave reviews. They help a lot! Thanks~!**

* * *

Wendy turned to Izumi.

"Well, it seems like we've built up a pretty good team here. With you two here now, we're virtually unstoppable." She said, grinning.

Izumi chuckled, and scratched the back of her head. "Yes, well, you shouldn't depend on me and my husband _too_ much. Apparently I'm one of the ones the homunculi have marked as a 'sacrifice' for whatever plan they have today."

She continued, "I'll lend you all a quick hand, and then I'm going to get the hell out of here. I won't give 'Father' a chance to catch me."

Wendy's blue eyes widened. "Sacrifice? What do you mean? Are you saying that the homunculi are choosing particular people to kill in order to follow through with their plan?"

Izumi sighed, and nodded. "Yes, I suppose that's correct. I'm not sure of all of the details, but I know that what it boils down to is that everyone that has attempted human transmutation and has seen the portal of Truth is going to be sacrificed. I am one of those people."

Wendy's breath caught, and her heart raced. Her entire body suddenly felt weak, and very warm.

She unbuttoned her black jacket, and revealed her white tank top she was wearing underneath, which was stained with blood. Olivier, Armstrong, Izumi, and her husband Sig all looked to her right arm.

Her automail was dully gleaming, and was slightly shiny with blood.

They all gasped.

"H-how did you loose your arm!? Please don't tell me that you didn't try to do what the Elric brothers did!" Armstrong shouted.

"Be quiet, Alex. The entire world is going to hear your shouting." Olivier warned him.

Wendy sighed, and then looked Izumi strait in the eyes. "I also attempted human transmutation, and I saw the truth inside of the gate, my arm being the price I paid. Am I a sacrifice too, then?"

Izumi shook her head. "Probably not, because the homunculi might not even know you exist. Since you were in Xing for a year, they never got to find out about you. You're safe then. But, cover up your arm, and try to avoid performing alchemy by clapping your hands as much as you can today, because the homunculi might see you and then will definitely use you as a sacrifice."

Wendy nodded, and pulled her jacket back on. "It's going to be hard not to use my alchemy at all the entire day. I guess I'll just have to fight the old fashioned way then."

Her mind was in a flurry. If all people in Amestris who had opened the gate of Truth were going to be sacrificed, then that definitely meant that Edward and Alphonse were on the homunculi's list.

Before she could think about that further, a mannequin soldier leapt at Wendy, tackling her to the ground.

She screamed, and then Olivier stabbed her sword through the beast and flung it to the side.

Olivier surveyed the room, and helped Wendy back on her feet.

"Well, it looks like we still have a bunch of these damn things to take care of still." Wendy stated.

She turned to the adults. "Alright, everyone. Let's end these things now!"

Without hesitation, Izumi, Sig, Armstrong, and Olivier obeyed Wendy's orders and got to work with killing the mannequins.

Wendy blushed, and smirked. It was nice to be the leader of the group for a few seconds. It was a bit odd, though, that she had been able to successfully boss around adults who were much older, and stronger than her. But, she relished the moment she could act as the superior for once.

* * *

The Amestrian soldiers watched in awe as the five of them destroyed multiple mannequin soldiers with ease.

"No fair! At least give us a chance to fight them!" One of the soldiers shouted at them.

Suddenly, everyone in the room heard yelling, and saw a man dressed in a high-ranking Amestrian military uniform on the top floor of the room being corned by a herd mannequin soldiers. The man was shooting helplessly at the monsters, but they were still heading towards him, and he was now defenseless.

"Stop this! You beasts! How dare you! You were supposed to obey every order we gave you, no matter what! This must mean that the good gentleman lied! He _lied_ to us about you! Get back! Stay away from me! You were supposed to bring us to the top, but you only turned against us! I'm not one of the targets, it's the other people you are after. _I'm_ not supposed to die!"

Izumi dashed up to where the man was, and punched all the mannequins off of the top floor, away from the man, with one swift kick.

The man looked up, trembling, and saw a stone-faced Izumi standing before him.

He chuckled nervously, his hands shook, and tears were pouring down his face.

"Oh! You have my sincere thanks! Please, join my security detail! I'll see to it that you are taken care of—OOF!"

She interrupted him by slamming her fist strait into his stomach painfully. He choked and sputtered.

Izumi then got close to the man, and whispered in his ear, "This 'good gentleman' you were speaking of earlier... would you be so kind to tell me a bit more about him?"

Meanwhile, Wendy had followed Armstrong and Olivier into another room in the Central building. A few Brigg's soldiers who were holding guns were scattered in the small space. A few Amestrian soldiers were lying on the floor dead, in a pool of blood.

Wendy smelt the stench of the bodies, and seeing actual dead humans made her want to cry. But, she wasn't sure why they were dead. Maybe they were evil, so they had to be killed. She would probably never know. But, for now, she had to at least stay strong. She couldn't cry, because it would show weakness. And she knew in the core of her bones that she couldn't be weak right now. Not today. If she was, she would surely die.

"This place is a mess," Olivier said.

Olivier kept walking further into the room, and then stopped right in front of a large desk, that was placed near the far wall of the room. It was a heavy dark-colored oak desk, and a heavy-duty wooden chair covered in red velvet and golden detailing was behind it.

A Brigg's soldier looked at Olivier and smirked. "Will you be taking over the command here, sir?"

It didn't take very long for Wendy to finally realize that that desk and chair was for the head army commander. Whoever sat in that chair, would be the one running the entire operation.

Olivier just glared at the chair, with a look of slight curiosity and disgust.

"I don't know why anyone would sit there and make themselves such an easy target," Olivier turned around and looked at Wendy and her brother, "Let's go."

The Brigg's soldier nodded, and proceeded to follow after her.

"Olivier…look!" Armstrong said. Olivier strolled over to him, and looked where he was pointing at.

Armstrong had found a secret door which led to a huge staircase leading downward, which seemed almost never ending.

"Where does this lead?" Olivier asked, her voice echoing.

A Brigg's soldier galloped down the stairs, and eventually stopped. "It looks like it goes a long ways down."

Armstrong leaned forward, trying to see the bottom of the staircase. It really did seem never-ending.

"Is _that_ where the mannequin soldiers came from?" he wondered aloud.

"If that's the case, the passageway might link underground." Olivier replied.

Wendy ran her metal automail fingers through her tangled crimson hair nervously.

* * *

"Right. I copy that." A Brigg's soldier spoke into the phone.

He lifted his head, and looked at Olivier. "General! Buccaneer's squad has just taken the main gate. There was little resistance, and few were injured. We also took control of the main entrance. They've secured tanks, and are currently taking up positions."

Olivier quickly took the phone in her hands, and listened.

"Major General Armstrong, we are now in control of most of the CentralCommandCenter. We've done it. We've beaten them."

All the Brigg's soldiers at the front gate cheered loudly, and threw their hats in the air in celebration.

"Yeah! Yeah!" They cheered, grins spread across all of their faces.

Then, they started chanting "Victory! Victory! Vic-tor-y!"

Armstrong, Olivier, and Wendy could all here their loud chanting from the other line of the phone.

Wendy pulled down her mask, and smiled.

Armstrong and Olivier smiled as well, relishing the moment of relief.

"Greetings. I'm back." A different voice said on the phone.

Olivier almost jumped back at the sound of the voice, and on her face was a look of terror.

"…And judging by the mess I see, it would appear that things have gotten rather out of hand in my absence now, wouldn't it?" the voice continued.

Then, the male voice was projected for the Brigg's soldiers that had taken over Central could then hear.

"As of now, I am personally taking command. We will get rid of the rebels. All available Central forces, it's time to fight."

Olivier clenched her teeth. "He's back. King Bradley."

Wendy gasped, and covered her mouth and nose with her cloth mask again. _So King Bradley wasn't even here to see all of this happen. That would probably explain why the entire town is in complete mayhem_. She thought.

The voice they were hearing was the Fuhrer himself, King Bradley.

The room suddenly got warm and stuffy, as everyone tried to decide what they were going to do.

Outside of the building, all of the Amestrian soldiers that were there stood up stiffly and saluted Bradley as he walked forward, with a soldier on either side of him.

Bradley stopped in front of the building, dust and dirt clouding around him.

* * *

Izumi, Olivier, Sig, Armstrong, and Wendy all stood over Brigadier General Edison, the man Izumi had saved from the mannequin soldiers a few minutes ago.

They looked down at him with blazing, angry eyes.

General Edison was sitting on the floor, shaking nervously under their stares.

"You planned to sacrifice our entire country just so you officials can gain immortality and _enslave_ the world as your own?" Izumi spat, looking at him as if he was a bug she was about to squash under her shoe.

"And I'm guessing Fuhrer Bradley is also aware of these plans." Armstrong added in.

"He was _created_ to lead this country for that purpose. Why shouldn't we do it!? We would be creating a world without war!" Edison argued.

"And for that to happen you would have to _murder_ the world first!" Izumi hissed.

Edison sighed, and clenched his hands. "The world wouldn't _die, _it would be _reborn_! It would be what you alchemists refer to as 'reconstruction'. We wouldn't be murdering the population like you said…they would be given eternal life while dwelling inside of us! Don't you see? We would bring the world together as one! ALL IS ONE, AND ONE IS ALL!"

When she heard this, Wendy's mind flashed back to when she had first started her alchemy training in Xing when she was twelve. During her first week of training, while her Master was teaching a lesson, he had said those exact words…

_All is one, and one is all. _

Izumi's mind also flashed back to when she had said those words to Ed and Al when they were children.

Edison kept rambling on and on about how their plan would 'benefit the world'.

Then, Izumi, being finally pushed to the edge of her temper, slapped him across the face.

Edison whimpered like a little child as he cradled his injured face.

Wendy was amazed. She was only fifteen, and this man must have been twice her age. Also, he was supposed to be a high-ranking Amestrian military official. Yet, she was still smarter and more mature than he was. He really was a pathetic man.

Izumi turned to the Amestrian soldiers in the room.

"So there you have it. Are you still on their side? The only thing these guys care about is themselves. Will you still help them?" she asked.

The soldiers she was talking to hung their heads in shame, and thought about what she said.

Edison turned towards the soldiers as well. "Now, wait! Listen, men! You need to follow orders!"

Izumi then proceeded to slap him in the face once again, even harder this time.

Wendy and the others were starting to get pretty pissed off at him, too.

The Amestrian soldiers looked at Edison lying on the ground, pathetically.

After talking amongst themselves for a while, they finally decided they no longer wanted to work under his command.

Olivier then grabbed a phone from one of the Brigg's soldiers. From what Wendy could tell from Olivier's words and expressions, things seemed to not be going very well for the other Brigg's soldiers.

Olivier hung up the phone and announced, "Well, this place is crawling with the enemy again. It won't take much time for their soldiers to re-group and seize the building back."

"Then we should hurry." Armstrong said.

Then, everyone turned to the open door in the room that led to the staircase. That would be their next move.

"If we get down the stairs far enough, I could easily dig us an escape tunnel to the streets." Izumi stated.

"Escape? Are you sure we should just leave?" Wendy asked.

Izumi slightly smiled. "Yes. I think we all need a little rest. We're not exactly in the best shape right now."

Wendy nodded, understanding.

The team of five then ventured down the long intimidating staircase.

* * *

While they were walking, Izumi started talking to Olivier about human transmutation, and what it does when someone attempts it.

Meanwhile, Armstrong started talking to Wendy.

"You should try to relax a little. You've been on edge ever since Izumi mentioned the homunculi's plan with human sacrifices. Are you scared that the homunculi are going to try to kill you?" Armstrong asked quietly, trying to look Wendy in the eyes.

She refused eye contact, and just kept looking forward as she walked down the stairs.

"No. I'm not worried about myself. I'm worried about someone else." She mumbled.

Armstrong stopped walking, and pulled Wendy around, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"I can tell you care very deeply for the Elric brothers, especially Edward. But, if you just keep worrying about them so much like this, you're just going to end up getting hurt. The best thing to do right now is trust. Trust that they can take care of themselves. However, if you _truly_ feel that they need your help and protection right now, then you can leave. Go find them. We can even send a couple of soldiers along with you just in case. Now that we have Izumi and Sig, we'll be able to handle whatever the enemy throws at us."

Wendy sighed, and her body slacked.

"Do you really think that I should leave? Do you think I should abandon you guys just to try to track down Ed and Al?" Wendy whispered.

"You won't be abandoning us. Like I said, we'll be fine. If you _really_ want to go see them, leave now. You better decide what you're going to do, and quickly." Armstrong said.

Wendy wrung her hands together, not knowing what to do. She had given them her word that she would stay with them, but she also couldn't deny she desperately wanted to try to find Ed and Al.

Before she could say anything, everyone heard a loud, distant rumbling noise.

"Izumi…" Sig trailed off.

"Yeah," she nodded to her Husband, "That's our cue to get the hell out of here. We're far enough down to dig an escape tunnel. Everybody stand back a few steps."

"That means it's time to part ways." Olivier said.

Then she gestured to her Brother. "We're staying. We can't turn our backs on this fight now."

"We're on a path leading directly to the heart of the enemy. We didn't come all this way just to pass up this chance!" Armstrong said.

Izumi stared at them. "Are you sure about this?"

The soldiers, Olivier, and Armstrong all nodded firmly.

Olivier extended her hand out to Izumi to shake it. "You saved our lives. Thanks for your help, Izumi Curtis."

"Don't mention it, Major General Armstrong." Izumi replied with a smile, taking her hand and shaking.

Just then, Wendy felt a feeling in the very pit of her stomach. It wasn't sickness. It wasn't happiness, or anger.

It was pure, complete, dark feeling of absolute terror.

She could sense the chi of an unimaginably big force.

Blue light suddenly flashed underneath Izumi, and a huge source of light appeared below her feet. It was a giant grey, inhuman eye.

Wendy and Izumi had seen that eye before. It was the eye at the portal of Truth.

It was the eye of God.

The blue light still flashed, and the eye then sprouted many little black arms, which started to grab at Izumi.

She screamed in pain as the arms grabbed at her, her body slowly chipping away.

Everyone got chills as they heard Izumi's helpless wailing.

"IZUMI!" Sig screamed, reaching his hand out at his wife.

Olivier watched in horror as Izumi's hand, which was still intertwined with hers, faded away.

"IZUMI! NOO!" Sig continued shouting.

Wendy reached out at her, screaming as well. She remembered the same thing happening to her when she was four. She remembered when the pain and fear welled up inside of her that night when she was being taken away to go to the Portal of Truth.

Eventually, Izumi's entire body had faded away right before their eyes, and the giant eye and the lights quickly disappeared.

They all stood in silence, looking at the spot Izumi had just been standing at a few seconds ago, alive and well.

"The…sacrifices…" Armstrong mumbled, realizing what had happened.

Izumi had just been taken to the Portal of Truth, probably along with the other human sacrifices.

Wendy stood there, shaking. Ed and Al must have been taken to the Portal along with her.

"NO! DAAMMNNN IIITT!" Wendy screamed, collapsing to the floor.

It was too late. There was nothing she could do.

It was too late.


	12. Futile Battle

**Please review, favorite, etc. Thank you~! This chapter is dedicated to Ayame and Lynn Chise. They've been so sweet to me lately, and have always supported my writing. I can't thank them enough. :) Enjoy~!**

* * *

"Izumi! Where are you!? Izumi!" Sig continued shouting.

Wendy slowly stood back up on her feet. Just a few seconds ago, Izumi was taken away to the Portal of Truth.

"Alex…do you understand what's happening here?" Olivier asked, turning to her Brother.

He stroked his chin in thought. "Hmm…perhaps. I believe the Elric boys once told me about this. After they attempted the transmutation, Edward described numerous strange hands dragged him to the Portal of Truth."

There was a moment of silence, until Olivier spoke up again.

"And what _is_ this portal, exactly?"

Wendy slowly looked up at Olivier with sad eyes.

"I'm not sure exactly _what_ the Portal is for. All I know is that inside of it, lies the Truth. I've seen part of it, but not all of it, because I only 'paid for admission' with my arm. However, it's still a mystery what's on the other side." She whispered.

Then she started thinking. Her older brother, John, had gotten his _entire_ _body_ taken away. She wondered exactly how much of the truth _he _saw. Then again, Alphonse had gotten his entire body taken away, and still doesn't seem to know anymore than Ed did. Maybe the amount you pay doesn't affect how much of the Truth you see, after all.

"What!? Repeat that!" A Briggs soldier in the room said into the phone.

Olivier turned to him. "What? You got through!?"

Sig quickly turned around.

"General, Headquarters is safe." The soldier told her.

Olivier nodded. "That's good. So, have they received any information about Izumi Curtis?"

"No." the soldier answered.

When Sig heard that, he lowered his head sadly, a look of heartbreak on his face.

"Oh, I see. Is there anything else to report?" Olivier said.

The soldier with the phone avoided her gaze, and was obviously struggling to say what he wanted to say.

"Yes. Captain Buccaneer and his men fought King Bradley. Trying to defend the main gate, they were all killed." He said, his voice deep and gravelly, "The Captain was working together with the forces from Xing. He inflicted a mortal wound on Bradley, and then pushed him into the moat."

_'Forces from Xing' What does he mean? So does that mean that there are people from Xing fighting here too? _Wendy wondered.

"Impossible! No! Impossible, impossible! I know King Bradley and I know that he's stronger than that! He can't be killed so easily! He's superhuman!" Brigadier General Edison shouted.

Edison was squirming around on the floor. Since he was a high-ranking official who was working with the enemy, Olivier and Armstrong had tied him up with a rope, and were holding him prisoner.

Then, to shut up his babbling, Olivier leaned over to Edison, and smacked him across the face harshly.

Olivier then casually asked the soldier with the phone how the main gate was holding up.

"They're still defending the gate. Anyways, are you familiar with the homunculus known as 'Greed'?" the soldier asked her.

Wendy's ears perked up at the mention of yet another homunculus.

"Well," the soldier continued, "Greed has come over to our side, and is helping us."

Armstrong furrowed his brows. "One of them is helping us?"

Edison then began babbling on and on again, which just encouraged Olivier to slap him across the face once again.

"Also, about Captain Buccaneer…they said he died with a smile on his face." The soldier told Olivier sadly.

Olivier clenched her fist. "Well, if he really did die with a smile on his face, then he wouldn't want us to be standing here weeping over him. Let's go!"

"Yes, sir!" all the Briggs soldiers saluted her.

Olivier turned to Izumi's husband. "Mr. Sig, come with us. We need to find your wife, as well."

He then nodded, agreeing to stick with the team.

Wendy picked up her large, curved sword from the ground, and gripped it in her hand firmly.

Then, everyone began slowly making their way down the stairs, one step at a time.

* * *

Ed's heart thumped violently against his chest.

"So…who will be our fifth? Right now, we have four out of the five human sacrifices we need right in this very room. Who will be our fifth?" 'Father' asked.

Izumi, Ed, and Al had been transported to a strange room. Right in front of them, was the homunculi's father. Since Hohenheim, Ed and Al's father, destroyed his last body, he was in his true form at the moment.

He was in the shape of a large man. He was a purple violet color, and had eyeballs all over his body. He had consumed Hohenheim, and then had a large grin on his face as he admired his sacrifices.

"Who will be our fifth sacrifice?" Father repeated once again.

Ed swallowed the lump in his throat.

All the people that were qualified to be human sacrifices were people who had seen the inside of the Portal of Truth.

That meant Edward, Alphonse, Izumi, and Hohenheim.

But that was only four people. They needed one more person. And 'Father' was still deciding who that person would be.

Sweat streamed down Ed's face.

The only other person he thought could qualify as a sacrifice would be Wendy. She was the only other person he knew who had been inside of the Portal.

Ed clenched his fists.

_No, _he thought, _I don't need to worry. I sent her a letter warning her to stay away from Amestris on the Promised Day. She won't be dumb enough to come back._

Edward's body relaxed a bit. Wendy was safe and sound in Xing.

Or so he thought.

* * *

Wendy suddenly stopped walking, planting her feet on a step.

Everyone in their group looked back at her.

"Wendy…what's wrong? We need to keep moving." Olivier said.

Wendy gently rested both her hands on her stomach, dropping her sword.

The core of her body was doing flips.

She could sense it.

Using her limited sense of chi, she could sense something coming. Something _big_.

"Snap out of it! Come on!" Armstrong said, but Wendy just sat there in silence.

As she predicted, the hallway of stairs they were on suddenly started shaking slightly. They could hear loud crackling outside of the building.

Then, the entire building got dark. The darkness wasn't sudden, it was sort of like a slow liquid, flowing into the room.

Everyone screamed, but they couldn't do anything. They just got engulfed in the darkness.

Then, their screams could no longer be heard, as a high pitched sound rang in their ears, and the crackling from outside got louder.

Suddenly, the darkness vanished, and the room got lighter.

Wendy shrieked as hundreds of little black arms sprouted from the ground. Those were the same arms that had dragged her away into the Portal of Truth when she was four years old.

Except, the arms didn't even grab at anyone. They just stuck out of the ground, swaying left and right slightly.

Just then, everyone felt their throats being squeezed, even though no one was touching them. Everyone collapsed to the ground, screaming. They couldn't breath.

Their throats got even tighter, and Wendy heard every individual person's scream, barely escaping their lips.

Wendy, along with everyone else, were on the ground, writing in pain, struggling to breath.

'Father' had activated the country-wide transmutation circle.

Everyone in Amestris was going to die.

This was the end.

Wendy had given up all hope of trying to scream at this point. She didn't want to waste the potential last moments of her life wailing in pain.

Although, deep down, she didn't believe that that was really the end. Deep down, she knew someone was going to do something. If there was _any_ good left in the world, surely someone would save them.

"Ed…save us….we…need you…I need you, too." Wendy murmured.

Then her body went slack, and her eyes slowly shut.

* * *

Wendy's finger twitched and her blue eyes fluttered open.

She groaned, and her body stiffened.

Olivier, Armstrong, Sig, and all the soldiers also opened their eyes beside her.

"…What…the hell…was that…?" Olivier mumbled, struggling to rise to her feet.

Everyone was groaning and trying to sit up.

Then, Wendy realized what had just happened. It took a few seconds for her to understand it.

Wendy realized that just about everyone in the country had just been robbed of their souls.

'Father' snatched away everyone's individual soul, and consumed all of them into himself.

Yet, now, they were lying on the ground, fine.

That means that Father's plan had failed. Somehow, someway, it didn't work.

But who did it?

Who stopped Father's plan and saved everyone's lives?

"That was…the freakiest thing I've ever experienced. It felt like…" Armstrong trailed off.

"It felt like being trapped. It felt like being encased in a jail you can escape from. It felt like I was going to be trapped forever." Wendy said.

There was silence, and then Olivier stood up, everyone else then following in her lead.

"Alright everyone! I don't know what that was, but we need to keep moving! We can't give up now! Let's go!" Olivier commanded.

"She's right. They probably need us to fight now more than ever." Wendy agreed.

Wendy picked up her sword and trotted after Olivier, who was leading the group down the rest of the stairs.

After they had been walking for a few minutes, they heard noises. Two Briggs soldiers ran ahead of the group, and turned a corner into a large space.

"Hold it! Don't move! We've got you!" One of the Briggs soldiers shouted, pointing his gun forward.

Everyone else caught up with the two soldiers, and saw who they were pointing their guns at.

A few human-chimeras were sitting in the middle of the space. One of them was a large, green, toad-like creature. The other resembled a boar, who had many spikes jutting out from his back. The last one was very muscular, and looked like a gorilla. He was holding an injured woman in his arms.

Building rubble from the walls and some of the ceiling collapsing littered the room.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!?" Armstrong said, his eyes widening.

The woman the gorilla human chimera was holding was none other than Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye herself.

The human chimera set Hawkeye down.

Hawkeye glanced up, and locked eyes with Wendy.

"Wait…those blue eyes…they're unmistakable…" Hawkeye mumbled.

Wendy blinked, and then stared back at her.

Hawkeye grinned. "You're Wendy Havoc, aren't you?"

Wendy gasped quietly. "Lieutenant Hawkeye…you remember me?"

She nodded. "Of course I remember you. If you're trying to keep your identity a secret, you're not doing it very well. Anyone would recognize those bright blue eyes."

Wendy grinned, and then pulled down her mask, showing her entire face. Then she noticed something, and her smile faltered.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye…you're hurt…" she whispered.

Hawkeye's entire left shoulder was covered in blood.

Hawkeye smiled softly.

"I'm going to be okay." She reassured her.

Wendy nodded, pulled her mask back on, and looked to Olivier for confirmation on what to do next.

Just then, from the giant hole in the floor in front of them, Izumi rose up, standing on a concrete pillar, which she moved with alchemy.

"Darling!" Izumi gushed, jumping at her husband.

"Izumi!" he shouted back, pulling her into a tight hug.

When they separated, Izumi look up at her husband seriously.

"This is no time for happy reunions. Look after Mustang." Izumi told Sig, and he nodded.

Colonel Mustang revealed himself from behind Izumi and walked forward.

"Colonel! You're here!" Hawkeye shouted.

"We still have some business we need to finish up above. We'll be seeing you!" Izumi yelled over her shoulder, as she transmuted the concrete pillar to rise until she reached the surface, which was a long way above them.

Hawkeye bent down next to Mustang.

"Colonel, are you injured? What's wrong?" she asked him, worry etched in her voice.

"My sight is gone." He replied, lifting his head up.

Everyone gasped. They all figured out what happened right away.

Then Mustang began speaking again, "Lieutenant, how are your injuries?"

Tears ran down Hawkeye's face. "Don't worry about me. Just worry about yourself for once."

While they were talking, Wendy couldn't help but think about something.

If Mustang had been forced to open the portal, and then got his eyesight taken away…and now he was here…where were Ed and Al?

Just then, there was a loud rumble, and Armstrong transmuted the surface they were all standing on and moved it to a lower level.

"Greed! Are you alright?" The Gorilla-human chimera shouted, waving at a man.

"Gorius! Yeah, things are going prefect. Now, how about a lift? You could use someone who knows what's going on, right?"

"That's true. What the hell _is_ happening, anyway?" Gorius asked.

Greed stepped forward, with a girl close behind. "Oh, not much. Except the father of the homunculi is going _berserk_ out there!"

Wendy studied 'Greed' and the girl behind him. She concluded that Greed was the homunculus who was on their side that they were talking about earlier. He had long black hair, pulled into a pony-tail. His bangs were all parted to the right. Wendy also noticed his Xingese attire. The girl standing behind him had dark hair pulled into a bun, and had an odd-looking red, black, and white mask covering her entire face. Her outfit was also surely from Xing, as it was very similar to Wendy's.

Then Greed started talking again. "So let's go! We'll need anyone who can still fight."

Greed observed the crowd of people, and then he pointed at Jerso, Hawkeye, and Olivier.

"Except for you guys! The fat frog man and the two women. Get out! You're injured!"

Olivier gasped. "Absolutely not! I still have forces that need me to lead them! I can still fight!"

Then, Greed and Olivier began arguing over whether or not she was in a good enough shape to fight.

Interrupting their banter, a Briggs soldier spoke up and told Olivier she had a call waiting for her on the phone.

Olivier, Armstrong, and Wendy all huddled around the phone.

"General! The Central Command Center…half of it has been blown up!" the voice on the phone said.

They all gasped.

"Blown up!? How is that possible!?" Armstrong asked.

"We can't contact the North gate." The person on the phone answered.

"See the power Father has?" Greed told them.

Armstrong turned to Greed. "What sort of monster is he?"

"He appears to be an ordinary man. However, within him is a Philosopher's Stone powered by many thousands of people. He's basically claimed the powers of God all for himself."

Greed turned back to the entire group. "Any ordinary human should leave now. We need to go fight this bastard."

"My men are still fighting. I will not just abandon my forces. I have a duty as their commanding officer." Olivier pressed.

Just then, Olivier picked up the phone again. The soldiers on the other line insisted that they were fine on their own, and that she didn't need to continue commanding them. They said that since she was injured, they didn't want to risk her getting killed. They told her to stay where she was, and not worry about them.

"Alex," Olivier said to her Brother after she hung up the phone, "I'm staying here. Take the radio with you. Win this at any cost."

He nodded. "Of course."

Then, Mustang, Hawkeye, and Lanfan all insisted they would join the team against Father. Greed finally agreed to let them go.

"Alright. We've assembled our team," then he looked at Wendy, "Hey…what about you, kid? Are you an alchemist?"

Wendy nodded. "My name is Wendy Havoc. I'm the former Sapphire Alchemist. I want to fight, too."

Greed nodded. "Okay. Let's go!"

Armstrong placed his fists to the platform they were on, and used his alchemy to make it rise slowly to the surface, where Father probably was.

Wendy took a deep breath, ready for anything.

It was a large possibility that she could die today.

And she knew that.

But, if it meant possibly saving all of Amestris, she was willing to make the sacrifice.

If she did die, she at least wanted to be able to see Ed one last time.

* * *

Armstrong, Hawkeye, and Wendy stood behind Mustang as he snapped his fingers, igniting a giant flame to shoot out into the middle of the area, where Father was.

When the smoke went away, Wendy caught sight of Father, and gasped. He was a tall man, who had long, light blond hair and sharp golden eyes.

Mustang shot his flames out at him a second time. This time, however, Father caught the flames in his hands, and shot them back at Mustang.

"Incoming attack Colonel, dead ahead!" Hawkeye yelled.

Mustang growled, and transmuted a wall to block the flames just in time.

Everyone was trying their best to at least damage Father a little bit. All the soldiers were firing guns and missiles at him, and some people just went strait up to him and tried to attack him up close. However, it seemed that whenever someone tried to attack him, a red force field would protect him.

But no one was giving up.

It was a total war field. Dust clouded the air. Guns were constantly being shot. Some buildings around that area had been completely mutilated.

Wendy stood there, surveying the scene. She knew she had to do something.

"HYYEAAHH!" Wendy screamed, and charged at him.

She leapt up into the air, and thrusted her sword at him, attempting to do some damage. Her weapon just bounced off his force field, however, and she was flung back.

She then decided she would have to go with a different approach. She clapped her hands together, and shot giant pieces of rubble at him. He still didn't even flinch.

Everyone still tried. Screams, gun shots, an explosions rang in everyone's ears.

Wendy jumped at him again. Then, behind her, she heard the loud booming of a gun shooting somewhere behind her.

Suddenly, she felt a hot pain spread across her left shoulder.

Wendy landed on the ground, and glanced at her shoulder, which was now covered in blood.

She had gotten shot once again.

It was only a flesh wound, so it wasn't that deep. But, by now, she was starting to get pretty pissed off.

First, her left hip was grazed by a bullet, and then she got shot once again, now across her left shoulder.

She fell onto the ground, groaning.

Just then, Hawkeye gave Wendy a signal to back away from Father for a second. She did as she was told, and dashed over to Hawkeye and Mustang, trying to tuck the thoughts of pain to the back of her mind.

Then, their plan was put into action. Izumi transmuted the ground to make a semi-circle around Father. Then, immediately after that, Mustang snapped his fingers and sent more flames at him.

"NOW HE'S TOAST!" Mustang shouted.

When the flames died down, Father stood there, motionless. He glared at Mustang angrily.

Then the battle continued. Except, now, people were beginning to loose hope. Wendy stood, looking around the area.

She had been so distracted earlier trying to find Ed and Al, that she forgot about looking for one person.

Her cousin, Jean.

Her heart pounded against her chest.

"JEAN! JEAN! JEAN HAVOC! WHERE ARE YOU!?" she screamed, anxiously looking around. She didn't see him anywhere. She hadn't talked to him in a year. He could be sick or even dead for all she knew.

"What a futile battle. You poor helpless humans can't hope to lay so much as a _finger_ on me." Father said, still easily blocking all attacks.

Suddenly, Greed leapt out of nowhere.

"Maybe humans aren't able, but what about a homunculus!?" he howled.

Greed then jumped onto Father. Greed covered his fist with his 'ultimate shield' and slammed his fist into Father's face, sinking into his skin.

Father grinned. "Wonderful. You're just in time, Greed. What a dutiful son you are. As it happens, I could use another Philosopher's Stone. I'll just take yours."

Father slowly consumed Greed's stone. Greed wailed in pain, yelling as loud as he could.

Then Greed grinned. "Good acting, right? You can't take my stone from me without dropping your _own_ barrier. You stupid fool. Now I can take your Godly powers away!"

Greed smiled, and began consuming Father's powers, all while manically laughing.

"GREEED!" someone yelled, leaping at Father, only to get blown back onto the ground.

Then people began shooting at him again. Dust once again clouded the air, and people continued attempting to get at least one hit on Father.

Wendy pointed her sword and jumped into the air. While she was souring overhead, she saw another person trying to attack him at the same time.

When she saw his face, her heart stopped.

"EEEDDDWWAAARRRDD!" she cried out at him.

Right when Ed turned to try and see who was yelling his name, he was blown back by Father's shield.

_Who was that? _Ed thought, _I didn't get a good look at them. But, I think I know that voice from somewhere…_

Ed's eyes widened, and his stomach dropped.

_Wait…was that…Wendy?..._

_ No. It couldn't be. She's in Xing right now…_

_ …Right? _


	13. Only You

**Hello readers~! So, I took basically all day to write this chapter. At least seven hours worth of writing. It's my longest chapter I've ever written of fanfiction. The reason it's so long is because this is a very important chapter. WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD SPOILERS. This chapter is based on episodes 62-63 of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I do not own FMA, it's characters, or the dialogue from the show. All right go to their rightful owners. Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy~!**

* * *

Ed's arms and legs slightly shook nervously, but he decided to dismiss the thought of Wendy for now.

Then, after letting out a fierce yell, Edward bolted after Father, and leapt into the air, ready to attack him while he was weak.

Armstrong also leapt into the air and was attacking Father at the same time.

When they both landed on him, they were quickly blown back by his shield with ease.

Just as Ed was blown back, he heard a sharp cracking noise. In horror, he glanced over at his automail, to see it completely mutilated.

He gasped, and his stomach dropped as he fell to the ground, looking at his right side. His automail right arm had completely broken off into hundreds of pieces which littered the area around him.

Immediately after he landed on the ground, however, Ed jumped back onto his feet, and once again charged at Father.

"DON'T GIVE UP NOW!" Edward shouted, his voice booming over the noises of the battle.

Nearby, Wendy skidded to the ground from being blown back by Father once again.

She heard Ed scream, and her heart skipped a beat. But, she refused to look over at him. She had to keep going after Father. Wendy just used the emotion that was pulsing through her body as fuel. Fuel to attempt to end this battle once and for all.

Armstrong punched at Father's shield over and over again, hoping it might possibly weaken his barrier.

Izumi kept hitting his shield in anyway that she could. She used her alchemy and even her bare fists.

Wendy jumped at Father, and thrashed her large sword at him repeatedly. She decided to not use her alchemy as much as possible, as it meant Father might see her clapping transmutation and might cause some trouble.

Suddenly, after Armstrong, Izumi, and Wendy were all blown back, Ed screamed, and swung his leg fiercely at Father.

Just then, Father's shield seemed to have suddenly disappeared. Ed's left foot hit him right in his left wrist.

Of course, Ed was blown back a few seconds later. However, Father's shield was nowhere to be seen.

Ed tumbled to the ground, yelping quietly in pain.

In the middle of the giant area, Father held his head with his hands, and black smoke was emanating from his mouth. Red sparks flew off of him, and veined pulsed from his face.

"AAAHH!" Father screamed, still holding his head.

"HE'S LOOSING CONTROL!" a man's voice somewhere near Wendy said.

Father continued groaning and screaming, the red light crackling around him even more.

"HE CAN'T KEEP THE POWER OF HE CLAIMS TO HAVE IN CHECK ANYMORE!" a man's voice yelled.

Everyone watched the homunculi's Father slowly cave in from the pain.

However, Wendy could sense that this wasn't the end quite yet.

Everyone then watched Father with terrified eyes as he cried out as loud as he could.

He suddenly curled up into a ball on the ground, and screamed in unbearable pain.

Then, he let off a thundering force, which was like no other most of the people there on the battle field had ever experienced before.

It was a roaring explosion, and everyone was sent flying through the air.

* * *

Wendy felt a slightly warm liquid stream down her face and stop at her mouth.

She quickly licked her lips, and tasted the bitter flavor of blood.

Her eyes opened, and her ears were ringing. Wendy slowly gained her eyesight back, and she surveyed the scene around her.

She was sprawled across the ground, her automail now completely mutilated. Her long crimson hair had come out of its bun, and flowed past her shoulders gently. Her left hand, which had gotten cut by glass earlier, now felt numb. Her face mask was torn, but still covered her mouth and nose.

Hundreds of other injured people lay on the ground around her. They all slowly opened their eyes, too.

The air was clouded by thick, black dust. A few seconds later, however, the dust cleared, revealing Father who was still curled up in the middle of the area.

His body was trembling, and his eyes were scared and ravage. He grinded his teeth together, and stood up.

"A stone…" Father mumbled, looking around at all the bodies of injured people that were spread about in the area around him.

"A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE!" Father shouted desperately.

He was going to die unless he found a stone. He had already gotten badly injured. And he was then completely terrified that he was _actually _going to be defeated by simple, lowly humans.

Wendy quickly sat up, and looked to her left. A large body of armor and a small girl, who looked Xingese, sat up and looked back at her.

"ALPHONSE!" Wendy screamed shrilly, and attempted to walk to him.

Her entire body was experiencing grueling pain, so she couldn't even crawl over to him. Using a lot of her strength, she barely reached out her left hand at him, and then it quickly dropped to the ground.

Alphonse gasped, and looked at the girl beside him.

"…Wendy…" he mumbled, barely audible.

Al could not believe that he was looking at Wendy. She looked completely different. Her automail was completely demolished. Her face was stained with old, dry blood, and new, moist blood. Since she was wearing a jacket and long pants, he couldn't see all of her injuries. But, just by looking at her, Al could see that her clothes were soaked in blood.

Then, Al, Wendy, and everyone else glanced back to the center of the area, and saw Father, who slowly turned around, and smiled deviously at someone.

The dust and smoke completely settled.

Ed was leaning against a large chunk of rubble, and a few thick brown pipes jutted out from it.

One thick pipe had completely pierced through his left arm.

Since Ed's automail had shattered, he only had his left arm to fight with. But, now, being pinned down by the pipe, he couldn't move anywhere.

Blood poured from where the pipe had gone through. All of the nerves in Ed's left arm were begging for mercy.

"A philosopher's stone…" Father whispered.

A bloodcurdling look of evil flashed in Father's eyes as he peered at Ed.

Then, he started to meander over to him.

"EDWARD! GET OUT OF THERE! NOW!" Hohenheim screamed at his son.

"BROTHER! GET OUT OF THERE! BROTHER! BROTHEEERRR!" Al wailed.

When Wendy caught sight of him, her heart stopped and her eyes widened.

A reaction of absolute horror, fear, and especially panic washed through her.

All time had seemed to just stop. It was like she was frozen in place.

_She had never been so scared in all her life._

She couldn't let Father kill Ed.

She couldn't let that happen.

Then, she snapped herself back into reality.

Wendy tore off her mask, and used all of her strength to sit up.

"EEEDDWAAARRD!" she wailed, tears gushing down her cheeks.

Ed looked at her, and sharply inhaled.

His throat caught when he saw her.

By now, her skin was very pale, and she was surrounded by a pool of her own blood.

"BROTHER! COME ON! MOVE!" Alphonse yelled.

Ed groaned as he tried to take his arm off the pipe. But it was no use.

Blood spurted from his arm, but he still didn't give up. Ed's face looked extremely pained, and he was in absolute agony.

"STOP, DAMN IT! STOOOOPP!" Al screeched.

Because he was pushing himself so much, Al's armor was literally falling to pieces. Shards of metal crumbled to the ground.

"Alphonse!" May cried.

"STOP THIS! STOP IT! My brother, my brother!" Al hopelessly continued screaming.

Wendy had been sitting there, desperately thinking about how to stop Father somehow. But she was too weak. Her automail had broken off, and she felt like she was going to pass out because of blood loss any second.

But, Father continued to shakily walk towards Edward.

"STOP IT, YOU BASTARD!" Wendy cried, but then collapsed back to the ground.

With petrified blue eyes, Wendy glanced up at Al, not knowing what to do.

Al looked down at Wendy, and gasped, thinking of an idea.

"Wendy…back then, Ed was willing to sacrifice his right arm in order to bring my soul back. So…shouldn't the reverse be possible?" he asked, staring ahead.

Wendy's hand trembled, realizing what he was planning.

Next to Al, May was also shaking. "Alphonse…what are you saying?"

Wendy glanced over at Father, who was getting even closer to Ed. He was walking slowly, but everyone knew that when Father got to Ed, he was surely going to try to kill him.

Al anxiously turned to May. "May…I need a favor. All you need to do is clear a path. Can you do that?"

May looked at him in horror. "But, if you do this, do you know what will happen?"

"There's no time!" Al insisted.

"_Please_, May," he pressed, "You're the _only one. _It has to be you."

May's eyes filled with tears. She didn't want to do what Alphonse was requesting, but she finally decided that she had to trust him.

"A stone…you _vile _human…GIVE IT TO ME!" Father roared.

"NO, EDWARD!" Hohenheim shouted.

Father was only a foot away from Ed, so he started to panic. He kept on trying to free his arm from the pipe, but it wasn't working.

"GIVE ME YOUR ENERGY!" Father finished, about to grab at Ed.

Suddenly, Ed heard an odd clink sound. He slowly looked to his right, and saw five alchestric markers, which had penetrated through the rock he was leaning against. The five knives were lined up in a perfect alchehestry array.

Everything seemed to be silent, and still.

Father stopped in place, and calmly turned around. He glared at May, who had just thrown the knives.

Then realizing what was happening, Ed's pained face then morphed into a look of undivided horror.

Alphonse laid on the ground, and slowly lifted his hands to the sky.

"…What are you doing…" Ed whispered, looking completely frightened.

May broke into tears, and Wendy whimpered, burying her face in her knees, not wanting to watch it happen.

"No…don't…_please_…AL!" Ed softly begged.

"Keep…moving…Brother." Al whispered.

The sun caught Al's armor, making it gently shimmer.

Then, Alphonse clapped his hands.

"AL! NOOO!" Ed wailed.

With one swift move, Al hovered his hands over his broken, open armor. Blue alchemy sparks flashed above him.

A few seconds later, Alphonse was transported to the Portal.

The Portal of Truth.

* * *

He hated that place, but he was still happy, because sitting in front of him, was his real body.

"Are you ready?" his body happily asked him.

Al nodded. "Now, we put our faith in Brother."

Al's real body smiled, and then extended its skinny, frail hand.

Alphonse then gently grasped his body's hand with his armor hand.

Then, what he had been waiting for for so many years, finally happened.

His soul calmly transported back into his actual body, and his armor gradually faded away.

And he was glad to be back.

Al, relieved to finally be back in his real body, then heard a voice.

Truth was sitting in front of him, grinning.

"Your soul has entered you, huh? But…will your Brother be coming back for you?" Truth questioned.

Al smirked, and answered confidently. "He will. I'm sure of it."

Ed's arm slowly faded off of Truth, and was being transported back to him.

Truth grinned. "I can't wait to see what he'll be sacrificing."

* * *

Blue light flashed around Ed's right side. Wendy lifted her head, and gasped.

Edward turned his head, and watched as his right arm appeared, connected to his body.

So he did it. Alphonse had sacrificed his soul for his brother's right arm.

"AL! YOU DUMBAAASSS!" Edward howled.

He couldn't believe what Al had just done.

But, he had to put those thoughts to the back of his mind for now. Right now, he had to destroy Father once and for all, and make sure that Al's sacrifice was not done for nothing.

Just then, Ed clapped his hands together, and transmuted a column of concrete to rise from the ground and slam right into Father. It made him fly through the air, and land far away. That would keep him back for now.

Suddenly, Edward took his newly gained right arm, and gripped onto the pipe that was pierced through his left arm.

He firmly took a hold of the pipe, and quickly pulled it out of his arm. Blood spurted from his wound, and it was excruciating. Ed shrieked as the pain shocked through his body.

Edward stood up, and fiercely clapped his hands together and transmuted more concrete missiles to shoot at Father.

One after the other, the chunks of solid concrete contacted painfully with Father's body, and he was blown back further.

Then, Ed transmuted a long sword, and chucked it at Father. It sliced across his face, and blood gushed from his wound.

Everyone listened to Father's screams of pain. His body was trying to regenerate, but it wasn't working very well for him.

"Nice, Ed. Just keep going!" Armstrong encouraged.

"Go, kid!" a human-chimera shouted.

"Come on, Elric!" another human-chimera said.

All of the soldiers started yelling, cheering Edward on.

"Kick his ass, Ed!" Hawkeye screamed.

"Go, Ed!" Izumi added.

"Fight, Edward Elric!" Armstrong cheered.

"You can do it!"

"Go! Go!"

"Come on!"

Ed listened to everyone cheering him on. He clenched his fists, and then charged at Father.

"Please don't die!" May yelled.

"Go Edward!" Hohenheim screamed.

"Right on!" Lanfan said.

"Fullmetal!" Mustang yelled.

"You can do it, Ed!" Wendy shouted, hopeful.

"HYYEEAAAHH!" Edward cried out, leaping at Father.

"HYEEAAH!" Father returned, also jumping at Ed.

They soured through the air, and then Ed's fist connected to Father's face, blowing him back.

Father skittered to the ground, landing on his back.

"Get up, you novice! I'm about to show you how outclassed you really are! THIS FIGHT, YOU LOOSE!" Edward shouted.

Father shakily got up, and glared at him.

However, that just provoked Ed to fight harder. He sprinted at Father, and punched him harshly in the face, once again.

He didn't want to give Father a chance to hit back, so, he repeatedly kept punching him, over and over. Each time, Father staggered back a bit. But Ed didn't let up. He wanted to end this.

Another punch. Another. Another. And another.

Then, he put his whole body weight into it, and then slammed his fist into Father's jaw, making him land on his back.

Edward stared at Father on the ground, breathing heavily.

Then, the crowd of soldiers erupted into cheers.

"YES! HE DID IT! HE SAVED US!" they cried.

Ed stood beside Father's body uncertainly. Had he really just defeated him?

...Was it all really over?

The corners of Wendy's mouth curled up into a smile. She was happy, but not completely relieved. She still had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that the battle still wasn't over.

Suddenly, Father's previously motionless body started pulsing. Then, he expanded, his stomach growing larger and larger, until it suddenly burst.

Crackling red light flashed, and it caused an explosion. Dust and debris was flown everywhere.

Wendy covered her face with her arm, still lying on the ground. She coughed and choked.

Father then stood up.

"The stone…THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE!" he shouted, and dove forward.

Ed dashed out of the way, but then realized that Father wasn't going after him.

Father jerked forward, and smashed his hand right into Greed's core.

"Give me your stone, Greed! Be a good son!" Father said, his voice evil and threatening.

Greed struggled, and tried to push his Father away, but it was no use. He was just too powerful.

Father slowly attempted to absorb Greed's Philosopher's stone.

Father's forearm turned black, from trying to take Greed's stone.

"Hey, Lanfan!" Greed shouted.

Lanfan knew what he was trying to get her to do. So, she leapt up into the air, and, using a small dagger, sliced the black part of Father's arm off with one swift movement.

Father groaned, and staggered backwards.

Ed ran towards Greed. "No! Greed!"

Slowly, the ouroboros tattoo, which signified he was a homunculi, faded away from Greed's hand.

Just then, Father's entire body started to turn a light coal color.

"Why, Greed!? Why would you betray your own Father!?" Father questioned, yelling in agony.

"I've always gone through a rebellious phase, so don't act so surprised. I reversed the 'Ultimate Shield' you gave me, and transformed your body into the most fragile carbon there is!" Greed spoke, who was now inside of his Fathers body.

"You _crafty devil_!" Father growled, and reached his hand down his throat. He then tore Greed's spirit out of his body.

Greed then slowly faded away into the air.

"It…looks like this is the end…thank you, and goodbye my friends…" Greed whispered, then completely fading away.

Ling, Lanfan, and Ed all stood and watched as Greed faded out of existence. Ling, especially, was heartbroken. It was as if a part of him died after Greed left. Which would make sense, because they did share the same body at one point.

Without wasting any time, Edward then charged forward and slammed his fist right into Father's stomach, which bore a hole through his now fragile carbon body.

Father groaned, and looked at the giant hole in his stomach.

Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of souls flew out of his stomach. His body couldn't take it anymore. They were the souls of the people from Xerxes that he had killed long ago.

The thousands of souls screamed, and floated away in the air, more and more still poured out of Father's stomach.

Finally, the last few souls floated away.

Father's white, non-human eyes were terrified.

"My stone…he _destroyed_ my stone…" he gasped, looking down at himself.

Just then, inside the hole in Father's stomach, a bunch of little hands sprouted up and then extended longer and longer. Then, the hands wrapped around Father's body.

"What!? This can't be. What is this!?" Father said, his voice shaky and weak.

Those were the same little hands that grabbed and dragged Ed, Al, Izumi, and Wendy to the Portal of Truth when they attempted human transmutation.

Ed glared at Father. "Go back to where you were born. Go back to nothing…_homunculus_!"

Father groaned as the little hands wrapped around him even more, eventually scrunching him up into a ball.

"But, why!? I just wanted to understand this world's knowledge! I wanted to experience it! I just wanted to be free!" Father wailed.

The hands got tighter and tighter. Eventually, he was completely gone.

It was all over. He was gone now.

…It was all over.

Wendy laid there, tears still silently falling down her cheeks.

For what seemed for a long time, it was silent. Then, Ed whirled around and scrambled over to Alphonse.

"AL! Are you okay!? Al! Come back!" he begged.

He collapsed down next to the armor.

Then, May started crying.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She said, burying her face into her hands.

"It's not your fault, May. It was Al's decision." Ed mumbled.

"Ed! I've got the toll for him!" Ling said, rushing over to Ed, with Lanfan close behind.

Ling held out a small glass vile, filled with a red liquid.

"Take it. It's a Philosopher's stone. Use it to bring him back." He insisted.

Ed clenched his fists, and his body shook. He lowered his head, and in a husky voice replied, "I can't. As much as I want to, I can't. I promised Al we'd never use a Philosopher's Stone."

_There has to be a way to get him back. There's got to be! Think, damn it! Think it through! Just keep thinking! _Ed yelled in his mind.

"Edward," Hohenheim spoke softly, "Use my life for the toll. Use me to save Alphonse. I've got just enough life left."

Ed's golden eyes widened, and then scrunched up in anger.

"NO WAY! I COULD NEVER DO THAT, YOU DUMBASS! THIS DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU! IT'S OUR OWN DAMN FAULT! I WON'T USE ANOTHER HUMAN LIFE TO GET AL BACK! AND I DON'T CARE WHO'S IT IS! WHY SHOULD _YOU_ SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR OUR MISTAKE!?"

"Because I'm his father." Hohenheim replied simply, "And that's the only thing that matters. You don't know _how much_ you boys mean to me. And I just want you to be happy. And I do bare some responsibility for this. This might not have happened if I had just been there for you. I'm sorry, Ed."

Hohenheim's eyes got slightly moist. "I've lived long enough. Just give me this chance to act like a father for once."

Wendy stared at Hohenheim. _So this man is Ed and Al's father? I can certainly see the resemblance. _

Edward's eyes filled with tears. "SHUT UP, YOU ROTTEN FATHER! If you say something that dumb again, I'll knock you out!"

Tears continued streaming down Ed's face, and then dripped off his chin.

"Edward…" Wendy whispered, her eyes tearing up. She'd never seen Ed cry before. She hated seeing him so upset. It tugged at her heart, and made her feel awful for ever leaving him before.

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me." Hohenheim whispered.

Ed wiped at his eyes with the back of his arm, and then looked over at Al's armor, which was lying motionless on the ground beside him.

_Now, think. Come on! You're the youngest state alchemist in history, damn it! You even passed through your own Portal of Truth so now you can transmute with your bare hands! There's gotta be some way! There has to be! _Ed scolded himself silently.

Ed clenched his fists, looked off into the distance, and kept thinking. _I can't give up. There has to be some way…I know it. I know there is…_

Edward looked down at his clenched hands. He then relaxed them, and opened them up, looking at his palms.

Then, he knew what he was going to do. He knew what he _had_ to do.

Just then, he looked up at May, was over by Al's armor, still crying.

"Alphonse…oh, Alphonse…" she said softly.

Ed watched her quietly weep.

_I didn't realize May cared so deeply for Al. _Ed thought.

Edward lifted his head, and looked around at everyone's sad faces. They were all so worried about Al.

He stood up. "May…stand back a little."

May looked up, and he smiled at her.

Edward then picked up an iron pipe from the ground, and walked over to the middle of the large area.

Then, slowly but surely, he scraped the pipe along the ground, making white marks on the concrete. He started by drawing a large circle, and then filled in all the intricate details inside of it. Everyone watched him closely.

Ed smiled as he drew the last line. Then, he stood up strait and chucked the iron pipe to the side.

It was a human transmutation circle.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. This will be my last transmutation. So, stand back and enjoy the show!" Ed said happily. He then clapped his hands together, and blue sparks formed around him. He then bent down, and placed his hands onto the transmutation circle.

The blue alchemy lights flashed proudly.

"Ed…what are you doing…" Wendy mumbled. She couldn't scream, because she was already feeling too faint.

She didn't know what Ed was going to sacrifice in return for Al, but she hoped more than anything that they would come back safely.

* * *

Edward stood in front of Truth, smiling slightly.

"I take it you're here to retrieve your brother? Just, how do you plan to pull an entire human out of here? What's your payment? Do you intend to offer your own body?" Truth asked, genuinely curious.

Ed smirked. "Yeah, I've got your payment right here. So go ahead and take it!"

He pointed to the Portal of Truth behind him.

Truth's mouth hung open in awe.

"This thing is _my _Portal of Truth, so I get to make the decision on how it's used. Isn't that right?" Ed said, boldly.

Truth gawked at him in surprise, but then grinned, and chuckled.

"It's come to _that_? And you're sure about this? You do realize that you'll never be able to perform alchemy ever again without your portal?" Truth questioned.

Ed looked behind him, and stared at the gate behind him. "I'm aware of that. I know that this portal contains every single secret alchemy has to offer. However, it's also led me astray. I've seen the truth that lies within it, and I became convinced that I could solve everything with alchemy. But, I couldn't have possibly been more wrong. That was just arrogance."

"You're really willing to cast it aside? To lower yourself to a simple human?" Truth asked.

"What do you mean, 'lower' myself? The only thing I've ever been is a simple human. Just a simple human that couldn't even save a little girl…not even with alchemy." Ed said, thinking of Nina.

"You're sure you'll be alright without alchemy? Think carefully, now." Truth warned.

Ed smiled. His thoughts wandered to all the great people in his life. Alphonse, Colonel Mustang, Hawkeye, Hohenheim, Armstrong, Winry, Ling, May, Wendy, and so many others.

Edward turned to Truth, and looked at him directly, still smiling. "Who even needs alchemy, when I've got them?"

Truth immediately grinned, and laughed. "You've done it! That's the right answer! Good job, you've beat me! Go ahead! Take him home!"

Ed clapped his hands together, and slapped them onto the Portal of Truth. Blue light flashed, and the Portal quickly started fading away.

"The back door is right over there," Truth said, pointing behind him, "Goodbye, Edward Elric!"

Truth then completely faded away, along with the Portal.

Ed smiled softly when he caught sight of Al, who was sitting on the floor, cross-legged.

Al stood up, and Ed caught him in his arms.

"That was crazy, Al." Ed told his younger brother.

Al chuckled. "Speak for yourself."

The huge door that would bring them back home opened up, and light shined through. Both the Elric brothers smiled.

"Now, let's go home. Together." Ed said.

Al grinned, and nodded.

Then, they walked forward, into the light, to go home.

* * *

Al opened his eyes. He and Ed had just arrived. Al was wrapped in a thin blanket, and was surrounded by many people.

"You're all here." Al said, smiling happily.

He glanced over, and saw his dad's smiling face. "Hey…dad."

Hohenheim smiled wider. "Welcome home."

With Ed's help, Al sat up, and rested his small, weak hand in his father's.

"Home at last." Al said, "It's so warm."

"Alphonse! Alphonse!" May cried, running over to Al and quickly wrapping her arms around his thin body.

"May…" Alphonse whispered happily.

May buried her face into Al's chest, and soaked him in tears.

"…I was…so scared." She whispered, holding him tighter.

Al smiled. "I bet. Sorry. It was wrong of me to put you through that. It's okay now…thank you."

Alphonse then looked up at Ed, and grinned. "Go to Wendy. She's probably been waiting a long time to finally see you again."

Edward blushed a light pink and lowered his head. "But…I need to stay with you. You just got your body back, and all."

Alphonse lightly laughed. "I'll be fine. I have everyone else here to help me out. Now, go over to her. I insist."

Ed looked up, and thought it over. He finally decided that his little brother was right. He needed to go talk to Wendy.

"Okay. I'll be back." Ed said, and stood up, looking around.

While he was walking towards Wendy, he started mumbling to himself. What was he going to say to her? He didn't want to sound like an idiot, so he practiced in his mind what he was going to say to her.

After walking for about a minute, he finally spotted her sitting on the ground, fiddling with a sword in her hand.

He sat down next to her awkwardly. She looked at him, and said nothing. Her face was unreadable. Ed didn't know whether she was happy to see him or not.

Suddenly, Wendy clenched her teeth, and tears spilled from her eyes.

She then tackled Ed into a hug, much like May did to Al. Ed blushed fiercely, but then smiled.

"Edward…I missed you so much…" she mumbled so low he barely heard her. She tightened their hug, and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

Ed grinned wider, and rested his head on her shoulder, his cheeks still red. He was glad no one was around to see them, or that would have called for a lot of embarrassment.

Edward then inhaled, and caught the scent of her hair. Even though she was very dirty, sweaty, and was still soaked in blood, her hair still had the same sweet sugary scent as before.

Ed then broke the hug, and looked at her, taking in her new appearance.

"You look so different…and…your hair is different, too…" he whispered, in awe.

She laughed. "I dyed it. Anyways, are you okay? How is Alphonse doing?"

There was a long silence, as Ed just stared at her.

He then reached out his arm, and put a long lock of her hair between his fingers, admiring the color.

"…Ed?" Wendy asked, furrowing her brows. A light pink crept onto her face.

He then shook his head, letting go of her hair. He blushed, realizing that he had been staring at her for a whole minute.

Edward shifted uncomfortably, and diverted his eyes away. "Uh…yeah. I'm fine. Al's okay too. I'm sure he likes all of the attention he's getting over there right now. Plus, he just got his body back, so he's thrilled."

Wendy smiled, which just made Ed blush two shades darker. "That's good. I'm so proud of you guys. Even when faced with challenges, you still pulled through. And, the sacrifice you made was absolutely incredible."

Ed, then lifted his eyes, and studied her. She looked like she was in so much pain. Her skin was still a little too pale, and her face was still stained with dry tears and blood.

"Wendy…are you alright? You're covered in blood! What happened to you!?" Ed said, his voice coming out high-pitched and worried.

Her eyes softened, and she smiled. "I'm fine. They were only minor injuries. Plus, when you were transported to the Portal of Truth when you were going to get Al back, that girl, May, ran over to me and used her alchehestry to heal me. I'm going to be okay."

Anger grew in Ed's stomach. "Damn it! Wendy! You haven't changed at all! Start worrying for _yourself_ for once, and not just me and Al! How did you get hurt? What exactly happened?"

"Shut up, Ed! You can't scold me! And I _have _to worry about you two, because you won't do it yourselves! All that happened was I got shot twice, and I accidentally cut my hand on glass. It's no big deal!" she growled back.

"NO BIG DEAL!? You idiot! Getting shot twice and getting your hand cut _is _a big deal! I can't _believe_ how stupid you are!" Ed shot back.

"Don't call me stupid, you-"

Ling then appeared out of nowhere, and interrupted her. "Hey, knock it off, you love birds! Al is about to be taken to the hospital to get some sleep. Let's go!"

Ed blushed profusely, and clenched his fists.

"S-shut up, Ling! C'mon Wendy, let's go see Al." Ed stammered.

However, Wendy just stood there, still. "Who's this?"

Ling grinned, and placed his fists proudly on his hips. "My name is Ling Yao, the twelfth Prince of Xing."

Wendy gasped, and her eyes widened. Suddenly, she stood up and respectfully bowed.

"It's an honor to meet you, Prince Yao. I've just recently spent a year in Xing for alchemy training. It's very nice to be meeting a real Xingese royal." She said.

Ed scoffed, and folded his arms. "You don't need to bow to Ling. He may be a prince, but he's also an idiot."

Ling laughed. "Wendy is right, Ed. _You_ should be bowing for me. I _am _royalty, after all."

Wendy stood up strait. "Wait… how do you know my name?"

"Ed has told me a lot about you." Ling said, with a wink.

Wendy blushed, and Ed did the same.

"Be quiet, you moron Prince. You're lucky I'm exhausted. If I wasn't, I would kick your ass right now." Ed threatened, walking away.

Ling and Wendy laughed, and followed close behind. Edward hadn't changed at all either.

They all walked to Al, and got ready to head to the hospital so Al could get some rest.

* * *

Ed glanced over at Wendy, who was talking to Al while Hawkeye was attending to getting a car to transport them all to the hospital.

Edward admired how Wendy's face lit up whenever she was talking to her friends. A long time ago, he noticed that whether she realized it or not, wherever she went, Wendy always carried a happy aura around with her. She always seemed to make anyone she met smile.

_She's so pretty when she's happy..._ Ed thought.

Stirring him out of his thoughts, Wendy looked over at Ed, and smiled and waved.

He blushed, realizing that she had just caught him staring at her, but still waved back.

_She sure is unique, isn't she? _Ed thought.

And that was just _one_ of the reasons why he loved her.


	14. Three Words

**Hello readers~ Reviews are very much appreciated. I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. All rights go to Hiromu Arakawa. By the way, the next chapter (chapter 15) will be the last of the entire series! Stay tuned for that! Enjoy~**

* * *

Wendy opened her eyes, and looked to the grey ceiling above her.

It was the night after The Promised Day, and Ed, Al, Wendy, and everyone else who had gotten hurt during that day's events had been transported to the hospital, and were staying at least over night.

Since Ed had insisted he'd be put in the same hospital room with Al, that's where they both were. Earlier, Wendy even helped out some of the doctors move a second bed for Edward into Alphonse's room.

However, even though she was exhausted, Wendy couldn't sleep.

She listened to the monotone humming of the air conditioner in her room.

She sighed, and then turned over onto her side, making the hospital sheets crinkle up.

About a half an hour earlier, she had to get stitches on the palm of her left hand from when she cut it on the window glass, and she also needed a blood transfusion because her body was so weak from loosing so much blood during the battle. The doctors eventually decided that it would be best if Wendy was asleep for the procedures. So, they drugged her and she was unconscious the entire time.

Wendy slowly sat up in the bed, and looked down at her left hand. The stitches in the middle of her palm protruded from her skin.

Then, she glanced to her right side. The absence of her automail startled her at first, but then she recalled that it had broken off while she was fighting that day.

She looked down at her torso, and noted that she was now wearing a hospital gown. It was a light green color, and was made with thick fabric. It buttoned shut on the back.

Suddenly, a light shock of panic sped through her.

_Where are my clothes I was wearing earlier? _She wondered frantically.

With a groan, Wendy scooted off the bed and her feet touched the cold floor. That's when she realized that the entire room was freezing cold. Her skin grew goose bumps, and she shivered involuntarily.

She slowly meandered around the dark room, feeling the walls for a light switch.

After about a minute's worth of searching, she still couldn't find one.

Then, as Wendy strolled over to the left wall of the room, she found a large counter, and a pile of clothes sat on top of it.

She immediately ran her fingers on top of her bloody, damp jacket. With a bit of fidgeting, she finally found a small pocket stitched into the inside of the jacket.

She lifted up the flap of the pocket, reached in, and pulled out the item she was looking for.

Wendy took it and carefully (with one hand) slipped it onto her left ring finger.

She smiled when she looked at it, dully gleaming on her finger.

The sapphire ring Ed had given her over a year ago.

Wendy looked to the other side of the room, and her eyes barely made out the shape of the bed. She sighed once again, realizing that she had given up all hope of being able to sleep. The room was freezing cold, and her mind was still racing with the events of that day. There was no way she would be able to fall asleep like that.

Then, without thinking, Wendy found her way to the door of the hospital room and slowly opened it, then stepped into the hallway.

Wearing only a hospital gown, she meandered her way down the hall, careful to not make any noises as she walked.

"What am I doing?" she finally asked herself aloud.

She had no clue why she had left her hospital room, nevertheless where she was heading to.

All she knew is that her instincts were telling her to continue down that hallway.

Eventually, she took a sharp right turn down another hallway, and then stopped abruptly at one of the rooms.

Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand on the cold brass knob and turned it.

Wendy poked her head in, and saw exactly who she expected to be in that room.

No one.

She sighed, and stepped back out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

Who was she expecting to be in there? Ed and Al?

Suddenly, she heard a soft man's voice whisper behind her.

"…Wendy?" he said.

Wendy whirled around and saw Ed standing right before her. His hair was out of its usual braid, and was completely down, resting on his shoulders. His chest was bare, and he was wearing a new pair of pants than he was earlier. He was also barefoot, like Wendy. She then wondered why he didn't have a hospital gown on, like her.

Her eyes lingered on his strong, bare chest for a moment, and then returned back to his golden eyes.

"Ed? What are you doing here?" she asked, staring at him blankly.

He scratched the back of his head, and looked down at his feet.

"Uhh…I don't know. I couldn't fall asleep. I was aching all over, so I decided to walk around a little bit."

Wendy smiled. "It's good to know that you're taking care of yourself now."

Ed lightly chuckled, and then looked back up at her, and smirked. "So, why are _you_ here?"

As Ed expected her to do, she blushed and ran her fingers nervously through her bangs. "Well, I just wanted to get out of the room they put me in. I guess they thought it would be a good idea to turn the air conditioning up so much in there that it felt like I was in the icy terrain of Briggs."

Edward laughed loudly, and Wendy joined in. "I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. I've been to Briggs, and I can tell you that there is no way an air conditioner could make a room even near how cold it is there."

She smiled softly. "I'll take your word for it. Anyways, how's Al doing?"

"Alright, I guess. Right when he was brought to the hospital room, they hooked him up to an IV to get some fluids in him, and he fell asleep. The doctors predict that he's going to be sleeping a lot for the next few weeks."

She smiled wider. "I'm so happy for him. I'm also really excited to see how he'll react when he eats food for the first time in years. I definitely want to be there to see that…" she trailed off.

After about a minute of silence. Ed just then noted in his head that Wendy's automail was completely gone. He had forgotten about that. So, right now, her right arm stub was wrapped with white cloth bandages.

Wendy then began speaking again.

"It's nice that Al can finally relax his new body. Just all the standing up and talking he did today must have tired him."

Ed nodded, and looked off into the distance thoughtfully. "Yeah. He went through a lot of stress today. He particularly seemed pretty upset when Ling, Lanfan, and May all left to go back to Xing. He seemed really sad when he was saying goodbye to May."

Wendy furrowed her brows. "What is up with those two, anyways? I just met May today, and she seems really nice. She even saved my life at one point, by healing my wounds with alchehestry when I was about to bleed to death. But…I could have _swore_ that I saw something deep in Al's eyes when he looked at May. I wonder what that means…"

Ed smiled slightly. "That would make sense. May did have a crush on Al for a long time, so he might have started to develop feelings for her as well, I guess."

Wendy didn't know how to respond to that. So she kept silent.

The two stood in the hospital hallway, shifting uncomfortably.

_I wish things between us weren't so awkward. I wish that things would go back to the way they were before we kissed and then I left for Xing. _Wendy thought.

Then, Wendy yawned loudly.

"Are you tired?" Ed asked, concerned. "If you want, because your room is so cold, you can stay in mine and Al's room."

Her cheeks ever-so-slightly turned a shade of pink, but because it was so dark, Ed couldn't see it.

"Yeah. That would be nice, thanks." She finally replied.

He smiled, and, without another word, started walking down the hall, and Wendy followed closely behind him.

Then, he opened a door and tiptoed into the room. As he walked in, he turned to Wendy, and gave her a signal to keep quiet. She nodded, understanding.

Wendy closed the door behind her, and they both walked further into the room.

She looked over at Al, who was sleeping on one side of the room, and she smiled. He looked so peaceful when he slept.

Ed then walked to the opposite side, and laid down on the bed.

"Goodnight, Wendy." He said, pulling the covers on him, and then closed his eyes.

She stood in the middle of the room, standing stiffly.

"Uh…Ed? There's only two beds in here. Where will I sleep?"

Ed opened his eyes, and sat up. "Oh, yeah…I didn't think about that. I guess we could call a doctor down here to bring another bed in."

"No." Wendy immediately answered. "I don't want to bother the doctors this late at night. I guess I'll just go back to my room and sleep there, then."

She turned around, ready to head out the door, but then Ed stopped her.

"Wait! You don't have to leave Wendy. You could still sleep in here." He said.

Wendy looked at him, confused. "How am I supposed to sleep in here without a bed?"

Then, with the small amount of light in the room, Wendy watched as Ed's face turned beet-red.

"Well…you could sleep in my bed."

Wendy's face soon matched his red-tone, and her eyes widened.

"WAIT! I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT! I meant that you could sleep on one side of the bed, and I sleep on the other. We could put a pillow between us, to make it less…weird. You could sleep in Al's bed instead, but I don't think you should. His body is in such a fragile state, that if you even just rolled over onto him, he could get hurt."

Ed was talking so fast just then, that Wendy barely understood him. She now noticed that his face was growing redder by the second. She almost wanted to laugh at how cute he was when he was embarrassed, but was able to contain herself.

"Okay." She simply replied.

Ed let out a silent sigh of relief. He was afraid she would think he was a total weirdo for suggesting that.

Edward got busy with making a barrier in the middle of the large bed with a pillow, while Wendy walked to the corner of the room where a small cabinet was, and took out an extra pillow.

Just barely moving her stitched left hand hurt immensely, but she just dealt with it.

She walked over to the bed, and tossed the pillow onto her side, and then awkwardly crawled in.

Ed was squished up against the metal bars on his side, as he was trying to keep as much of a distance between them as possible.

Edward then curled up under his blanket, and closed his eyes once again.

He then heard quiet, muffled sounds.

Ed eventually realized that Wendy was crying quietly into her pillow.

He sat up in the bed, and looked to Wendy, who was faced away from him.

"Wendy…you're crying. What's wrong?" he whispered.

She turned around to him, and looked up at him with moist blue eyes.

Her eyes then darted away, and she looked down at herself awkwardly.

"I'm fine. It's just…" she trailed off.

Edward's golden eyes softened. "Wendy…I know that you're not fine. It's okay to tell me how you feel. I won't judge you. Now, tell me why you're crying."

Wendy then realized that there was no use in lying to him. She might as well just tell him.

"Well…it's just that today was insane. When I first arrived in Amestris, I was so scared when I couldn't find you or Al. I thought over all the possibilities of bad things that could happen, and it just made me panic more. Then…when I saw you pinned against that rock with a pipe through your arm, and Father was walking towards you…I just…"

Tears streamed down her face, and she couldn't say anymore, because she then buried her face into her pillow, and proceeded to sob.

Ed didn't know what to do. He didn't really have that much experience with comforting anyone, so he didn't have a clue as to what he was supposed to do to make her feel better. Eventually, he just settled with stroking her head, and speaking to her softly.

"It's okay, Wendy. I'm fine now. Al is fine. Everyone is fine. Everything is going to be alright. You don't have to cry anymore. It's all over."

Still crying, Wendy sat up, and then wrapped her left arm around Ed, pulling him into a hug.

She dug her face into his bare chest. He blushed immensely, but soon wrapped his arms around her.

"I was just…so scared. I thought you were going to die. And I couldn't do anything about it. I've never been that scared in my entire life. I thought I was going to loose you…" she whispered into his chest.

Ed rested her chin onto her head, still blushing. He never realized how much she actually cared about him. People had told him that she was in love with him, but he never truly believed them.

But, Ed _did_ know that he loved her.

He stroked the back of her head more, and just listened to her cry. He tangled his fingers into her long auburn hair. He quickly noted that her hair was now clean. She must have washed it sometime after the events of The Promised Day.

Ed tightened his arms around her. They just sat there on the bed like that, until Wendy's mind had finally decided she'd cried enough.

They separated, but still sat close.

"I'm sorry for crying on you." Wendy apologized.

Edward shook his head. "No harm done."

Then, something on Wendy's left hand caught his eye.

Gingerly, he grabbed her left hand and lifted it up to study it closer.

Loosely around her ring finger, was the sapphire ring he had given her long ago.

"…You still have the ring I gave you?" he asked timidly.

She nodded, blushing. "Yeah. I guess I do. I didn't want to just throw it away or something like that."

Ed smirked. "That's good. I was hoping that you would still have it."

Wendy replied with a yawn.

Ed decided that it probably was about time that they get to sleep.

But when he tried to lie down, Wendy pulled him into another hug.

Ed used his free hand he wasn't hugging Wendy with to take the pillow that was on the bed to separate the two of them and tossed it on the floor.

They both laid down, and Wendy snuggled against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her protectively.

Wendy inhaled. His skin smelt wonderful. It was an aura of sweet grass and freshly turned soil. Nothing felt as amazing to her as just lying there, wrapped in his warm arms. She wished they could lie there like that forever.

Ed moved his nose near her hair, and sniffed. Yup, it was the sweet smell he had come to love, but now it was cleaner and sweeter.

The two snuggled closer, and then Ed whispered tenderly,

"Goodnight, Wendy."

He felt her mouth turn into a smile against his skin.

"Goodnight, Edward."

Then, they fell asleep in each other's arms, snuggling until the sun rose.

* * *

Ed's eyes slowly opened. Wendy was stirring in her sleep beside him. He groaned, not wanting to get up. But, he thought that there was probably going to be a long day ahead of them, so he would probably have to get up soon.

He sighed, and sat up, stretching. Wendy, still sleeping, groaned and snuggled closer to him.

He smiled.

"I'm guessing you slept well last night, Brother." Al suddenly said, winking.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Ed screamed at the top of his lungs, falling out of the bed and onto the cold tile floor.

Al laughed, and laughed some more.

Then he continued laughing, until tears came out of his eyes.

Wendy sighed, and sat up in the bed. She rubbed her eyes, and stared at the scene around her. Ed was lying on the floor screaming at Al to shut up, and Al looked like he was about to pass out because of how hard he was laughing.

"SHUT UP, AL! She was just sleeping in my bed because her room was so cold! I swear!" Ed insisted, steaming angry.

Al continued laughing uncontrollably.

Ed growled. "If you weren't my Brother and if you hadn't just gotten your body back, I would beat you into a bloody pulp!"

Al wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

Suddenly, Wendy's eyes widened, and her mouth spread into a grin.

"Al! You're laughing! You're laughing with your new body! How does it feel to be able to laugh again?" she asked, excited.

"Amazing. It feels amazing." Al replied.

Wendy and Alphonse began talking about how great and weird and odd it was for Al to be back in his original body.

While they were talking, Ed glanced up at Wendy.

The morning sunshine was pouring through the window glass, and it illuminated her light, soft skin perfectly.

Her blue eyes shimmered happily while she talked with Al. The entire time, she wore a gorgeous white smile across her face.

Not to mention her soft, long crimson hair which fell lightly past her shoulders.

_Why haven't I ever realized how pretty she was until now? _Ed mentally slapped himself.

He blushed, and smiled as he gazed at her smiling face.

"So, Wendy, I saw that you and Ed were pretty comfortable together this morning." Al remarked, switching topics in their conversation.

Wendy and Ed blushed profusely.

Then, Ed proceeded to scream at Al, Al began to laugh, and Wendy just watched the two siblings' antics.

Then, she looked down at her sapphire ring, and sighed.

_Last night…just falling asleep in Ed's arms…was amazing…_ Wendy thought,

_…And I want more of those nights. I want a thousand more nights to just be that. Me curled up in Ed's embrace. I want every single night for the rest of my life to be that._

Wendy's stomach did flips as her mind raced with thoughts.

She wanted to tell Ed how she felt about him _so _badly. She wanted to tell him more than anything. She wanted to tell him so bad that it _hurt_.

But, she couldn't.

She knew it wasn't that right time.

Wendy had to be patient, and wait just a little longer.

But, she was willing to wait however long it took.

She didn't care if it took a thousand years…

As long as some day she could be with him…

She would wait.

* * *

Wendy examined herself, and she was satisfied.

It had taken three or four times, but finally all of the blood stains had come out of her clothes.

There was a laundry room in the hospital, and she had requested her clothes be cleaned. And, after multiple attempts, they were finally completely clean.

They were the clothes Wendy had left Xing in, and fought during the Promised Day with.

Her outfit consisted of a black fitted button-up jacket, a plain white tank top underneath, loose black with white trim Xingese-styled fighting pants, black slip-on flat shoes, and a black cloth mask that covered only her mouth and nose (which she just tucked into her pocket for now.)

Thank goodness the hospital workers didn't confiscate her last kunai blade, which had a red ribbon tied around the base. They did, however, confiscate her large curved sword. But, she could easily get it back if she just asked for it.

Her Master had given her the outfit and weapons for her fifteenth birthday. Wendy's swordsmanship skills had developed greatly over time, and she was happy for that. Her Master had told her that she shouldn't depend so greatly on her alchemy all the time. Overtime, she grew accustomed to fighting with only her sword and not using alchemy at all, that she eventually began to favor just using it instead of her alchemy during battles.

Right then, she was on her way to the hospital room Colonel Mustang was staying in, because she wanted to ask him about the whereabouts of her cousin, Jean.

* * *

Wendy walked down the hallway, to Ed and Al's room.

She eventually broke into a sprint to the room, not wanting to waste anymore time.

She burst into the room, breathing heavily.

"Ed! I just came back from the Colonel's room in the hospital, and I asked him about my cousin Jean. He told me what happened!" she shouted, her eyes wide.

Ed sat on the bed, looking up at her, perplexed.

"You mean he told you about how Jean became paralyzed from the waist down? Yes, I remember when that happened. It happened when he and the Colonel were fighting a homunculus named Lust a long time ago. Colonel Mustang was eventually able to kill her, but not before Lust stabbed Jean with a spear, paralyzing him." Ed explained, carefully.

Wendy nodded, stepping further into the room. "Yeah, I know. The Colonel told me all of that."

Then Ed furrowed his brows. "How could you not know when your own cousin became paralyzed?"

She frowned. "After I left to Xing, I basically lost all contact with Jean, besides one phone call. Plus, no one called to inform me how he was doing, so I'm just finding out now."

Ed's shoulders slumped, and he frowned. "I'm sorry, Wendy. It must be awful not finding out about his condition until now."

Wendy lowered her head. "Thanks for your concern, Ed. I'm going to call him right now. Apparently, he's back in the Eastern Amestris area, managing our family's general store. After I call him, I'm going to visit him for a couple days."

Ed nodded. "I think that would be the best thing to do right now. After you call him, come back here and tell me what he said. Alright?"

"Alright." She confirmed.

She glanced to the other side of the room, where Alphonse was sleeping happily.

Just as the doctors predicted, Al had only woken up for a few minutes that morning, and then slept through the rest of the day. All of that time his body spent in the Portal of Truth meant he needed lots of sleep now.

* * *

Wendy said goodbye, and hung up the phone. Her cousin Jean said that he was doing fine, and he apologized for not letting her know what happened to him sooner. He thought it was a great idea for her to visit him, and he encouraged her to do so as soon as possible.

Wendy then decided she was leaving to visit Jean tonight, and would stay for two days.

She was actually sort of happy that Ed and Al still had a lot of recovering in the hospital to do, because that meant that they would still be there waiting until she got back.

Since she had spent a large portion of the day talking to Jean on the phone, it was already getting dark outside.

Wendy slowly walked back to Ed and Al's room.

She turned the knob, and her eyes darted to Ed right when she entered the room. Probably to strengthen his new arm, he was lifting a weight.

"Hey, Wendy." Ed whispered, in a way that made Wendy's heart melt.

"H-hi, Ed. It sure is getting dark outside, isn't it?" she asked, her heart pounding.

He smiled lightly. "Yeah, I guess it is. Where have you been all day?"

Wendy rubbed the back of her neck. "I've been talking to Jean on the phone. I'm leaving to visit him tonight."

Ed frowned. "Oh…okay. When will you come back?"

"In a couple days." She answered simply.

Then there was a silence between them. A long silence, that Wendy hated.

"Hey, Ed? Could I braid you hair?" she suddenly asked.

His mouth hung open, and he looked at her with wide, golden eyes.

"…W-what? You want to b-braid my hair?" he stammered, in disbelief.

Wendy smiled as if it were nothing. "Yeah. I like how it looks when it's down, but I've always wanted to braid your hair myself. Can I?"

Ed studied her expression, wondering if she was actually being serious. It wasn't that he didn't want her to braid his hair; it was just that he found her sudden request a bit odd.

"Sure." He finally answered.

She smiled, crawled onto the bed, and then sat cross-legged behind him.

Since his hair was a bit tangled, she ran her fingers through it before she got ready to braid it.

His hair was very soft.

She continued running her fingers through the kinks and tangles of his hair.

While she did this, of course Ed's face was the same shade as a tomato.

After she was sure she had gotten the majority of tangles out, Wendy then began separating his hair into three equal pieces. She soon found out that braiding with just one hand was going to be difficult. It was at times like this when she especially wished her automail hadn't broken.

"Hey! You better not mess this up, or I'll punch you!" Ed shouted.

Wendy laughed at his lame attempt at a threat.

"I'll keep that in mind." She said, grinning ear to ear.

Then, they both sat in a comfortable silence.

Eventually, Wendy started to get a little distracted.

_Jeez…Ed sure has gotten a lot taller over the year I've been in Xing. And his shoulders have gotten broader, too. Not to mention how fit his body has gotten…_ Wendy's mind trailed off, and she just stared at Ed's bare back, completely forgetting all about the braid she was supposed to be making.

"Hey!" Ed snapped, turning around to look at her, "Why are you stopping? I don't have all day!"

Wendy nodded, and blushed, getting back to work.

That was just like Ed. He would be sweet and kind one moment, and then his temper would bubble over, and he would start yelling. Wendy knew that he wasn't actually mad at her, though.

She knew that he was only yelling because he was embarrassed and anxious. And she understood that.

When she was done, she tied the end of his hair with a tie, and admired her work. She did a pretty good job. Although, she had taken much more time than she needed just to braid his hair, because she just didn't want that moment between them to end. It was very relaxing, and eased her nerves.

Then, Ed turned around and met her gaze.

"Thanks. Also, I'm sorry for yelling at you just then, Wendy. I'm still a little on edge from the Promised Day." He admitted.

She smiled. "I understand. We're all on edge still."

Ed couldn't help but stare at her. She was doing that thing that Ed despised again. He hated it when she smiled a little half smile, because it always made Ed's stomach flutter. She was her prettiest when she smiled. But, whenever she smiles like that, Ed gets flustered and can't think strait.

"Well, I guess I'm going to get ready to go to the train station to see Jean. I'll be back in two days. Tell Al I said goodbye when he wakes up tomorrow."

"Okay. Have fun with Jean. Bye." Ed said.

With a nod, she scooted off the bed, and turned to Ed.

Then, she did it again.

The half-smile that made Ed's heart jump.

"Goodbye, Ed." Wendy said. She walked to the door, and placed her hand on the knob.

"Wait…Wendy…" Ed mumbled.

She turned around, confused. "What?"

"I need to tell you something…" he mumbled, even quieter.

Wendy was still confused, but still turned around and gave him her full attention.

"What do you need to say, Ed? Speak up." She spoke quietly, as to not wake up Alphonse.

"I…I think that I…" Ed began. His face was redder than Wendy had ever seen it before.

She stared at him expectantly, but he still said nothing.

"Never mind. You can go now." He finished, the blush on his cheeks still not lightening.

Wendy's heart thumped against her chest.

"I actually have something to tell you, Ed." She whispered, looking down at her feet.

"Yes?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

_No. Now is not the time. _She decided.

"Um…I forgot what I was going to say," she lied. "Goodbye, Ed."

"Bye, Wendy." He returned.

Wendy then slipped out of the room, and trekked down the hospital hallway.

Ed stared at the door she had just exited out of.

They both sighed.

The three words they wish they would have confessed to each other still hung in their heads.


	15. The End

**Oh my goodness! It's been so long since I've posted a chapter! I apologize for the very long wait for this chapter to come up. Anyways, this is the last chapter of the series. The entire story ends here...**

**The chapter is based partly on episode 64 of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Contains slight spoliers if you haven't seen that episode. All rights of FMA go to Hiromu Arakawa. **

**If you read the entire thing, or enjoyed any bit of it, please leave a review, even if it's short. Thank you for reading. **

******_Reviews help me a lot._Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Alphonse let out a heavy, shaky breath, and then stopped walking to sit down for a moment.

Wendy and Ed turned around, and looked at him with concern.

"Al...are you okay? Do you want me to carry you there?" Ed said, his expression softening.

Alphonse looked up, and smiled weakly at Ed and Wendy.

"I didn't realize how weak my muscles had gotten after being in the portal for so long. But, I'll be fine. I just need to rest for a moment."

It had been three months since the Promised Day. During that time, Al's body had gone through grueling physical therapy. Now, he was able to walk with the help of a cane. His body was still not completely back to its original state quite yet, but Al was pushing through.

Besides the week Wendy had ended up spending with her cousin Jean in their family's General Store, she had stayed by Ed and Al's side every moment of the day. The brothers had insisted her go to Resembool to visit Winry to get new automail sometime during those three months, but Wendy refused. She wanted to support and help the brothers as much as she could. So, during that entire span of three months, Wendy had learned to live without automail.

Edward worked very hard to strengthen and get used to his newly-gained right arm. His right arm was now just as strong as his left, and all of his wounds from the Promised Day had healed. Like Wendy, he never left Alphonse's side.

They were finally, after three months, on their way to Winry's house in Resembool. Ed and Al missed Winry and Pinako very much, since they basically considered them family. Wendy was also eager to return to Resembool, as she was also quite fond of Winry and Pinako. They had both shown her so much kindness when they first met. Also, the brothers had finally convinced her to finally get a new automail arm.

"I'll just move at my own pace. You guys go ahead, if you want." Al told Ed and Wendy.

Wendy smirked. "Yeah right, Al. There's no way we're doing that. You're stuck with us!"

Ed matched her mischievous smile. "Yup. We'll walk beside you the whole time."

Al smiled, and then used his cane as support to stand back up.

"Alright, then. Let's continue to Granny and Winry's house."

Then, the three of them persisted down the long dirt road to the Rockbell's house, slowly and steadily, so Al could keep up.

A few minutes later, Wendy slowed down her walking even more, eventually trailing a long ways behind Ed and Al. For the three months they were in the hospital for, she had spent just about everyday with them, so she decided that now would be a good time to let them have some private brother-time together.

As Wendy had predicted would happen, Ed and Al stopped in their tracks, and turned around to face her, as she was now a large distance behind them.

"Hey, Wendy! Hurry up! We need to make it to the house before sun set!" Ed called.

She flashed a wide smile. "You guys go ahead! You need some time to yourself for a little while!"

Before Ed could protest, Al gently rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Brother. She'll be right behind us. Let's just continue on."

Ed frowned, but then nodded, and began walking forward again.

Al knew very well that Ed wanted Wendy to walk beside them. It would make sense, because, even though the two hadn't said anything to him, Al was sure that Ed still loved Wendy, and vice versa. But, Al knew that even after all that time; neither of them had confessed anything to one another yet.

* * *

Wendy's light, black shoes from Xing scraped lazily against the dirt and gravel of the road. She loved those shoes. They were much more comfortable than the boots she used to wear awhile ago in Amestris.

In fact, Wendy kept all of her clothes from Xing. However, she usually only wore her shoes and pants from Xing, which she paired up with some light sweaters Jean had bought for her. She also kept her deep red hair color, except now she wore it down and loose all the time, because Al (and secretly Ed, although he wouldn't admit it aloud) thought that she looked amazing with it down. Plus, she thought it was easier to manage in the morning that way.

Wendy watched Ed and Al's backs as they trudged further down the path. She was too far away to hear them, but she could tell that Ed and Al were talking.

"We sure have made a lot of friends." Al commented.

Ed smirked. "I know. Especially you, Alphonse. You got pretty close with a certain princess. Are you aiming to be the future prince of Xing?"

Al chuckled, realizing he was teasing him about Mei.

"Oh, come on. She _is_ a nice girl, though."

Al then couldn't help but recall the day Ling, Lanfan, and Mei all left Amestris to go back to Xing. Then, he thought about the last time he hugged Mei before she left. Her hair smelt wonderful, and her skin was so soft.

Returning back to reality, Al looked to Ed. "But, forget about that. What about you and Wendy?"

Before Ed even had time to blush and yell at Al, he stopped, and gazed up in front of him. The Rockbell house was just ahead.

"Good. We finally made it. I'm exhausted." Wendy yawned, walking up behind Ed and Al.

Just then, Den's ears pricked up, and saw Ed, Al, and Wendy walking towards the house. He immediately jumped up and ran at them, barking happily.

Den then leapt into the air, tackling Al to the ground, licking his face.

Al laughed uncontrollably. "Stop Den! That tickles!"

Wendy giggled, and Ed watched, with a wide smile, as Den attack Al with kisses.

Then, the three of them heard the front door open. They all looked up, and saw Winry standing at the front door. Al stood up.

Winry just stood there in silence. Her blue eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open in shock.

Then, her eyes filled with tears.

Without warning, she then jogged towards Ed and Al, and knocked them to the ground with a hug. She wrapped her arms around the two brothers, who were laughing. Tears still running down her face, she grinned, overjoyed.

Winry sat up, and looked at them. "You dummies. Welcome home."

Ed chuckled. "Thanks."

"It's good to be back." Al added.

Wendy, standing a few feet away, smiled softly at them. She thought that Winry was so sweet.

Winry then stood up, and helped the brothers to their feet.

She then looked over to Wendy, and another look of surprise and joy spread across her face.

She ran over to Wendy, and threw her arms around her, the same way she did to Ed and Al, except not hard enough to knock her over, which Wendy was thankful for.

"Wendy…I'm so glad to see you, too. Thank you for taking care of Ed and Al when I couldn't. They're like family to me." Winry said, separating from their hug.

Wendy laughed. "I don't think I took care of _them._ It's more the other way around. They took care of _me._"

Al chuckled. "I'm afraid that you're wrong, Wendy. Brother and I would be lost without you."

Ed smiled. "I have to agree with Al on this one."

Wendy blushed lightly, and then yawned, as she was exhausted.

"Come on. Let's go inside. I'll make apple pie." Winry said, walking towards the door.

They all rejoiced. Apple pie sounded pretty good right then.

* * *

Two Years Later

"OOWWW!" Ed wailed. He had just smashed his thumb with a hammer. He was on top of the roof. Winry had sent him out of the house to fix a hole in the roof that had been there for a long time.

Edward looked at his thumb. It was now red, and a bit swollen.

"Fixing a roof should not be _this_ hard." He mumbled.

Suddenly, he dropped his hammer and clapped his hands together. He placed them on the hole of the roof, waiting for something to happen.

Nothing happened.

"Well, it was worth a shot." He said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

He knew he would never be able to use alchemy ever again, but he could at least try. He also couldn't ask Wendy or Al to use their alchemy to help him, because Winry had given them their own chores around the house to do, which they had all decided was fair, because it was a decent payment for staying in the house.

Sighing, Ed stood up, and walked to the very top of the roof. Awed, he looked out at the scenery. The Resembool country side was breath taking. The grass was dark green and lush. The trees stood tall, and were all nicely trimmed to a perfect shape. The sky was a soft, light blue. The hills blended together, and were all round and magnificent. Small yellow flowers dotted the grass here and there.

"It was worth it." Ed murmured.

"Brother! What's taking you so long?" Al suddenly called.

Ed turned around, and saw Al, who climbed up onto the roof.

"Winry is testing my courtesy with these damn chores. And after everything I did-" Ed began ranting.

Al interrupted him with a smile. "Wendy is making that tea you like so much to go along with the apple pie Winry is baking."

"Oh. Okay." Ed said, taking a deep breath. He was really tired, because he'd worked on chores the entire day. Some tea and pie would make everything better.

Al climbed further up the roof, and gazed out at the scenery. "Wow…" he whispered.

The two brothers looked out at the beautiful, endless green hills.

"You can see the entire country side today, huh?" Al remarked.

Ed smiled. "Yeah."

"It's so…vast." Al commented.

"Yeah." Ed repeated.

There was a peaceful moment of silence, until Al turned to Ed, and spoke in a serious tone. "So…I've been thinking about something lately."

"Me too. And, I bet we're thinking the same thing." Ed smirked.

After talking for a few more minutes, Ed and Al eventually headed inside the house for tea and pie.

Right when they walked into the house, the aroma of freshly-baked apple pie wafted into their noses.

They strolled into the dining room, and sat down. Two plates with slices of pie were already waiting for them. Winry was in the kitchen filling some cups with the tea Wendy made. Pinako was in the basement, working with some automail.

Ed and Al sat down, and Al began digging into his pie. Ed, however, looked around the room, disappointed.

Winry then walked in, and set down the cups of tea, then taking a spot at the table for herself.

"Why do you look so sad, Ed? Does the pie taste bad or something?" Winry asked, taking a bite.

Ed shook his head. "No, the pie is great. But…where is Wendy?"

Al laughed. "So that's why you looked so depressed."

Winry took a sip of tea. "She said she wasn't hungry. She went outside to get some fresh air, I believe."

A shock of panic then crept up Ed's spine, sending a chill through him.

"I'm going to talk to her. I hope nothing's wrong." He said, standing up.

He jogged out the door. Over his shoulder, he called, "Leave some pie for me!"

Al and Winry raised their eyebrows at him, but then returned back to eating.

Ed shut the door, and scanned the front yard. Wendy was nowhere to be seen.

Just yesterday, Wendy had returned back from a four-month long visit to her cousin Jean. Before she left, she had spent over a year living with Ed, Al, Winry, and Pinako in the house. Winry and Pinako insisted she was no trouble, and that she was a great addition to the household. However, Wendy just thought of herself as a burden, so she was always trying to be helpful in someway, by doing as many chores as Winry and Pinako would give her.

Ed hadn't gotten to see her very much recently, because he had a bunch of things he needed to do the day before, which was when she had finally returned to Resembool.

Ed's mind was racing.

_ Why did she say she 'wasn't hungry'? What's going on? I hope nothing's bothering her. _

It was late afternoon, and it would get dark soon. It was warm outside, but a nice, cool breeze balanced it out.

Ed quickly jogged down the porch steps.

"Wendy! Are you out here? Wendy!" Edward called. There was no answer.

_Where did that idiot go? _He wondered.

At first he was worried, but then he started to get angry. It seemed like she always did this to him. Wendy always made him worry. She probably didn't realize that she was making him worry so much, but she still always did it. It was almost constantly that Wendy would do something reckless and then Ed would get worried about her. She always insists that she can take care of herself, but Ed never believes it.

Suddenly, Edward heard a scream.

It was Wendy's voice.

"WENDY!" he shouted, and darted in the direction of the screams.

What if she was getting attacked? Ed didn't have any weapons on him, and he couldn't use alchemy. She didn't have her automail, so she couldn't transmute a weapon to defend herself with. Last night, she had asked Winry to remove her automail so she could adjust it, or possibly build a stronger automail arm for her.

Finally, Ed turned right and spotted Wendy sitting on the ground next to a tree, looking dazed.

"Wendy! Are you okay!? What happened!? Why are you out here!?" Ed questioned frantically.

Wendy groaned, and slowly stood up.

"Sorry. I wasn't hungry, so I decided to come outside for some fresh air. I found this tree, so I decided to climb it. That wasn't a good idea. Some of the branches are pretty brittle, so when I stepped on one while climbing up, it broke and I fell. I couldn't catch myself with just one arm, so I fell flat on my face."

Ed stared at her, his eyes wide.

Suddenly, he burst into laughter.

He laughed, and continued laughing, until tears formed in his eyes.

Wendy blushed, embarrassed. Eventually, she gave in and began laughing.

"You idiot. How could you manage to fall out of a tree?" Ed eventually asked.

Wendy giggled. "Hey! Don't make fun of me! How about _you_ try to climb a tree with only one arm!"

Ed then raised his eyebrows. "Why were you climbing a tree, anyways?"

Wendy's bright blue eyes then shimmered with wonder, and amazement.

"You can get the best view of the scenery up in that tree." She looked in the distance thoughtfully, "Resembool is a beautiful place. Like I said before, it would have been nice to grow up in such a wide, open, country-side town. I grew up in a crowded city. It wasn't that pleasant."

Ed smiled softly. "Yeah. Resembool is nice. I guess I never thought of it as that amazing before. I'm just so used to it, that it just seems like home. Nothing extra special or fantastic."

Wendy turned back to him. "My Father probably would have loved this place. I didn't really know him, since he died when I was very young, but my Mother always told me that he loved the outdoors and traveling. That's how he died, actually. While he traveled to some town in the western country next to Amestris, he caught a foreign disease and died from it. At least…he died doing something he loved, I guess."

Ed gave Wendy a sympathetic look. He thought about how it must have been hard to grow up without a proper father figure in her life. He and Al were in a similar situation as children.

"When I'm a father, I'm never going to abandon my kids. Al and I were devastated after our Father left. I don't want my children to have to go through the same pain." Ed said, walking closer to her.

Wendy averted her eyes. "When I'm a mother, I will never hurt my children. I will discipline them when I need to, but I will _never_ lay a finger to hurt them. Abusing a child is an awful thing to do. It leaves emotional and physical scars on them, which will never fade away."

He knew what she was talking about. She was referring to the scars on her back that her Aunt had given her.

Just then, Wendy looked up at Ed, and frowned. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought up the topic of parents. I know it's a hard thing for you to talk about."

Ed smiled. "It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong."

Then, they both looked up, noticing that it was starting to get dark outside.

Wendy grinned. "The stars are going to come out soon."

Ed then walked past Wendy, to the tree she had just been climbing. With one swift jump, he grabbed onto the base of the tree, and climbed up.

"Ed, what are you doing?"

Edward smirked. "I'm going to watch the stars come out. Do you wanna join me?"

He gripped the tree with one hand, and extended his other out to Wendy.

Pink color crept across her cheeks. Hesitantly, she reached out, and gently took his hand. She didn't know if he was being serious. She definitely hoped he was.

With ease, Ed grabbed her hand, and lifted her up to him, and she gripped onto the base of the tree with her legs. It was going to be difficult to climb a tree with just one arm.

He let go of her hand for a moment, and she struggled to hold on. When he finally climbed onto a firm, thick branch, he extended his hand again, and she gladly accepted it. They continued climbing like that, with Ed every so often having to help Wendy up to the next branch. Eventually, Ed perched himself on a wide, strong branch near the top of the tree, and helped Wendy up onto it.

They breathed heavily. It was tough work to get up there. But, they both had a feeling that it would be worth it.

Ed looked over at Wendy, who was watching the dark sky intently, waiting for the first star to show itself.

She had her crimson hair down, her bangs parted to the right, hanging softly above her bright blue eyes. Her locks flowed a bit past her shoulders. She was wearing a white tank top, which she borrowed form Winry. All she had packed was sweaters and long sleeved shirts, and since it was getting warmer, she needed something from Winry, who was glad to lend her clothes. Wendy was also wearing a black skirt, which she, of course, also borrowed from Winry.

Ed smiled, and turned his eyes to the sky. The sun was gone, but there still were no stars yet.

While he still had his eyes locked to the sky, Wendy looked at him, and her heart raced.

_This is it. I have to say it. It's either now, or never. This is my chance. I have to tell him. _She shouted in her head.

"Ed…can I tell you something?" she mumbled.

He looked over at her, which just made her face burn red.

"Sure, Wendy. What do you need to tell me?" he asked, confused why she was blushing so much.

She took a deep breath, and whispered,

"Edward…wǒ ài nǐ."

Ed raised his eyebrows, and his golden eyes softened. "…What? I don't understand you. You're speaking another language."

It took a few seconds for Wendy to realize she had just said 'I love you' in Xingese, instead of Amestrian.

Her face got redder and redder. But, she told herself that she would just have to retry. He _had_ to know her feelings.

Wendy whispered, "Sorry. I guess I'm still used to speaking Xingese. What I meant to say was that…. I love-"

Ed interrupted her with an awed gasp. "Look how many stars are in the sky, now!"

He pointed up, and grinned. "They're really pretty looking tonight."

Wendy's heart shattered. She was so disappointed, that tears threatened to spill out.

People had told her over and over again that he was in love with her, and that they should be a couple. But, even if that was true before, Wendy was almost completely sure that his feelings for her had vanished, if they were ever there in the first place.

"Yeah," she finally replied, "The stars are really pretty tonight."

"Oh," Ed spoke quietly and turned to her, "I'm sorry. I interrupted what you were saying. What were you going to tell me? You were saying that you loved something?"

Wendy blinked back tears and decided to lie. "Never mind. I was just going to tell you about how much I love Xing. I miss it a lot. I really want to go back there soon. I haven't talked to my Master for a long time."

Ed nodded. "I understand. That place is basically your home, so it makes sense that you would miss it."

For an hour longer, the two of them kept mostly silent, just sitting perched on a high branch of a tree, watching the stars come out. Every now and then they would start up a short conversation, but then return back to silence. They both preferred the peaceful silence better, anyways.

Suddenly, Ed heard the sound of Wendy's teeth chattering together. He looked over at her, and saw that she was shivering, in desperation to keep warm. It was getting cold outside, and she was wearing only a tank top and a skirt.

Without warning, Edward wrapped his right arm around Wendy's shoulders, and pulled her closer to him. She happily accepted his warm embrace.

She snuggled closer to him, and rested her head on his shoulder.

Eventually, without saying anything else, Wendy fell asleep.

Ed looked at the sleeping girl curled up beside him.

Before she had just recently visited Jean, Wendy had lived with Al, Winry, Pinako, and Ed for an entire year.

Even after seeing Wendy every single day for an entire year, he still hadn't confessed how he felt about her.

Ed looked down at Wendy, and slowly stroked her soft hair with his free hand.

He sighed.

"I've defeated multiple homunculi. I even took down the homunculi's Father, who was immensely powerful. I was the Fullmetal Alchemist. I was the youngest person in all Amestrian history to become a state alchemist. If I've done all that, why can I just tell Wendy three simple words?"

Ed closed his eyes. He thought about how he and Al were already making travel plans. Al was going to Xing soon to learn more about Alchehestry from Mei, and Ed was going to travel the west to try to gain as much knowledge as he could. Plus, both brothers agreed that they wanted to do a lot of traveling.

Ed was planning on asking Wendy if she would travel along with him to the west. He was unsure if she would go with him or not, because she would probably want to go back to Xing.

Edward opened his eyes. He wanted Wendy to travel along with him very much. He would probably be traveling for a long time, possibly up to an entire year.

He didn't want to be away from Wendy for another year.

Or, for another second.

He looked down at Wendy's left hand, and saw the sapphire ring he had given her long ago. She wore it everyday now.

Wendy and Ed were both now seventeen years old. Al was sixteen.

Al was always telling Ed to act soon. If he didn't confess his feelings to Wendy, Al said that it would be too late, and she would fall for another man.

Little did the brothers know, though, Wendy would never fall for another man. She loved Ed too much. Whenever anyone mentioned marriage, or relationships, or just love in general, Wendy's mind immediately flashed to Ed. She loved him harder, and deeper than she had ever loved anything or anyone in her entire life.

"I have to tell her that I love her soon. I…I have to do it." Ed whispered to himself.

He sighed.

Holding a sleeping Wendy in his arms, he jumped swiftly down from the tree, and headed back to the house.

He had a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

A Couple Months Later

"Make sure to oil your automail everyday. Also, please remember to keep the screws tightened, and to dry it off immediately after you get out of the bath tub." Winry told Ed, a concerned edge to her voice.

Ed nodded. "I will."

Winry and Wendy had both gone along with Ed to say their last goodbyes to him at the train station.

He was traveling to the West. Al was traveling to Xing, but had already left on his train, and was left with some teary goodbye hugs from Ed, Wendy, and Winry.

A few weeks before that day he was leaving, he had asked Wendy to travel along with him. After a lot of thinking, she sadly replied no. She really wanted to, but she finally decided that she wanted to settle down in Amestris for a little while. She was going to try to find a job, and maybe even buy a house of her own. Wendy didn't want to live in Winry and Pinako's house forever.

However, Wendy told Ed that she would call him everyday, and also that after she buys a house, she might even take a train to the West and travel along with him for a few months.

Still, it was going to be awhile before they could do that. So, this was going to be their last goodbye for possibly a long time.

After realizing that he had been staring blankly off in the distance for a long time, Ed finally turned back to Winry and smiled.

"Thanks for everything, Winry. I'll call you and Granny right when I arrive at my first hotel in the west. Goodbye."

Winry's eyes got blurry, and she smiled back at him, her bottom lip slightly quivering.

"Goodbye, Ed. Have fun and stay safe in the west."

They pulled into a hug, but then Winry quickly broke it and then stared Ed strait in the eye.

In a serious tone, she said, "Now, you need to say goodbye to her. It may not seem like it, but she really is very sad that you're leaving. Also, this may be your last chance to tell her how you really feel. Go to her, now."

"Who are you talking about?" Ed asked, even though he knew exactly who she was talking about.

Without saying anything, Winry swiveled her head the other way. Ed's golden eyes followed her gaze, and saw who she was looking at.

Wendy was sitting on a bench, and her head was faced down. Her hair covered her eyes, and she was fiddling with something in her hands.

Winry gently nudged Ed's back, and whispered,

"Go to her. She needs you."

Ed nodded, and took a deep breath.

Winry already started walking away. "Goodbye, Ed! Don't forget to call!" she said over her shoulder.

He turned around and waved at her, watching her walk away and eventually disappear into a crowd of people.

Still holding his breath, Ed nervously shuffled over to the bench Wendy sat on.

When he made it there, he plopped himself down next to her.

She lifted her head, and grinned. "Hey."

"Hey." He replied, his face burning.

"So…I guess your train is coming soon."

"Yeah…soon, I guess."

Then there was silence. Wendy then busied herself with doing something with the object in her hands.

"What is that?" Ed asked, peeking over her shoulder to try to get a good look.

She lifted her hands so he could see. She was wrapping a red ribbon around the base of a kunai knife.

"Is that a kunai? Why are you wrapping a ribbon around it?"

Wendy smiled, happy that he had asked that.

"Yeah, it's a kunai. My Master gave me a set of kunai knives before I left to go to Amestris on the Promised Day. Actually, I wanted to give it to you."

Ed was surprised. "Really? Why?"

Wendy smiled. It might be useful during your travels in the west. Also, the red ribbon tied around has special meaning. In Xing, the color red symbolizes good luck and fortune. Maybe it will give you some luck."

Ed laughed. "I'll take all the luck I can get."

Wendy placed it carefully in his hands, making sure it didn't cut him.

Ed felt the weight of the knife in his hands. It definitely looked lighter than it actually was. He admired the dull gleam decorating the edges of the blade, and then placed it in his suitcase.

Then he looked at her, and smiled. "Thank you. This is a really nice gift. I really appreciate it."

Before she even had time to smile back, they both heard the loud cries of the train approaching.

They both stood up, and watched the train slowly pull forward into the station. It stopped, its wheels screeching and its smoke huffing.

"Well, your train is here." Wendy declared.

Ed sighed, and then looked over at Wendy. Her red hair danced delicately in the breeze. She was wearing a thin black sweater, which exposed her bare shoulders (which one of the two was made of metal.) She also had on a beige skirt that hung loosely about five inches above her knees.

"So," Wendy began, turning towards him, "Are you ready to leave?"

Just then, something stirred inside of Ed's stomach. At first, the feeling was just a slight flitter. Then, it expanded into a pain, and then into a throbbing that spread to his chest. The feeling was warm, and very strong. Within a matter of seconds, this feeling pulsed through his entire body. It flowed through every one of his veins, and tingled in the middle of his bones. It was possible that his mind was just making the sensation up, but, whether it was real or not, he knew that his body, mind, heart, and _soul_ were trying to release something that had been bottled up in him forever.

Suddenly, he couldn't contain the words anymore, and he cried out,

"EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE!"

His face blazed a bright red, and he pointed his finger right at Wendy. He let out soft gurgling noises, and then burst out,

"I'LL GIVE HALF OF MY LIFE TO YOU, IF YOU GIVE HALF OF YOURS TO ME!"

All time seemed to freeze, and Wendy's blue eyes shimmered gently. Her mouth hung open, and her heart stopped.

Ed lowered his hand, and stared at her, his face still rosy.

After a few seconds, his heart sunk when he couldn't figure out if the look of shock on her face was from surprise, or disgust.

Her eyes then filled with tears, which streamed down her face.

Then, the corners of her mouth pulled up into a smile.

With a light scream of joy, she leapt onto Ed and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

He laughed, and hugged her back, tears forming in his golden eyes.

Wendy got up on her tip-toes, and put her lips near Ed's ear, and said,

"Of course I will, you idiot. I've been waiting for you to ask that forever."

Ed and Wendy both laughed, and held each other close, not wanting to let go.

The train beside them let out another puff of smoke, and the whistle sounded.

They pulled apart, and Wendy looked up at him with bright sapphire eyes.

"Goodbye, Ed."

"Goodbye, Wendy."

He beamed, and then pulled her into a hug again.

Ed kissed the top of Wendy's head. They both wanted that moment to last forever.

"I have to go now." He stated, his golden eyes dropping sadly.

She nodded, and broke the embrace. She chewed the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. Wendy wasn't about to cry because of sadness, but because of a mixture of relief, peace, and pure, unmistakable happiness.

Ed walked away, and waved, smiling.

"Goodbye." He said once again.

She waved weakly, and watched him board the train, along with many other people. Eventually, the train pulled away from the station with a groan.

Wendy watched it move away down the tracks until it was just a little dot in the distance.

Then, after making sure no one else was around, Wendy sighed happily.

"Mrs. Elric." She murmured to herself, testing out the name. Her soon-to-be name tasted sweet as it easily rolled off her tongue.

"Mrs. Elric." She repeated.

Wendy _definitely_ liked the sound of that.

* * *

Three Years Later

It was one in the morning. The calm, quiet, cool air in their house soon filled with the loud cry of a baby.

Wendy's bright blue eyes flittered open, and she groaned, not wanting to have to get up.

"Don't worry, you can stay in bed. I'll go get her." Ed said, his voice groggy yet simultaneously calm and happy.

"Thank you." Wendy replied, snuggling deeper into the blanket.

The bed squeaked and shifted as Ed slowly got out of bed. When he stood up, he stretched and then walked over to the other side of the bed and moved the stray locks of red hair that covered Wendy's half-asleep face. He then bent down and placed his lips on her forehead. He sighed happily, just admiring his wife's beauty for just a few moments more. Then, he walked out of the room to attend to the baby.

A few seconds later, the door to their bedroom creaked open and a young boy with blond hair and round, bright blue eyes walked into the room, clutching a brown, slightly tattered teddy bear.

Wendy sat up in bed, and looked at the little boy.

"What are you doing out of bed, John?"

John rubbed his eyes with his pudgy hands and yawned. "Little sister has been crying so I can't sleep."

Wendy frowned, and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry. Your daddy is checking on her right now. She's probably just fussy."

John slowly walked over to the foot of the bed, and attempted to climb onto the massive thing. However, since he was trying to hold his teddy bear in one hand and climb with the other, he was unsuccessful.

Wendy laughed, and helped him up onto the bed.

"Can I sleep with you tonight, Mommy?" the toddler asked.

She nodded, and smiled. "Of course you can."

John smiled back weakly, and then crawled to the head of the bed, and curled up underneath the blanket.

Soon, he was fast asleep.

A few minutes later, Ed walked into the room, cradling a small baby girl in his arms.

She was wrapped in a pink blanket, and had a mop of dark brown hair jutting out every which way. Tears clouded in her golden eyes.

"Waaah! Waaah!" the baby screamed, scrunching her nose in frustration.

"I think Trisha is hungry." Ed said, his eyes tired and half-closed.

Wendy laughed. "I guess she is."

She crawled out of bed, and took her daughter from Ed's arms.

"It's okay, Trisha." She murmured, rocking the baby back and forth gently.

Not even a second later, Trisha stopped crying and started to fall asleep in her Mother's arms.

Ed laughed loudly, and walked over to Wendy, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. "You definitely have the magic touch. I thought she was crying because she was hungry, but apparently all she wanted was to see her mommy."

Wendy laughed along with him. "She _is_ a Mommy's girl."

Trisha _was_ most definitely a mommy's girl. She hated being away from Wendy for even a few minutes. She loved Ed, her Dad, also very much, but she would always make a fuss until Wendy would hold her again. Their son, John, on the other hand, was much more independent.

Ed kissed Wendy's neck, and she grinned.

"I love you." He whispered, his warm breath tickling her skin.

"I love you more." She replied, using one hand to lift his chin up so she could kiss him on the lips.

Wendy then laid her sleeping daughter down at the end of the bed, and began singing a Xingese lullaby that her Master sometimes sang to her long ago.

"Ó, wǒ de háizi, wúgū hé tiánmì. Qù shuìjiàole, wǒ de ài, xìngfú zài děngzhe nǐ de míngtiān." She sang, her voice soft and light.

Ed smiled, his heart leaping with joy. He loved it when she sang lullabies to their children. He didn't understand the language she sang them in, but he loved her singing, and it always put him at peace when he heard it.

Wendy looked up at her husband and smirked.

"Now they're asleep."

Ed sat next to her on the bed, and wrapped his arm around her, kissing her forehead.

"It's so amazing…what we've done." He whispered, staring at both his sleeping children.

Wendy laughed softly. "I know. It's amazing to think that we brought these children into the world. We gave them life. It's actually soft of weird to think about."

He rested his head on her shoulder, and pulled her closer. "Yeah, I know. We've done something that alchemists have wanted to do for years. _Countless_ brilliant men have spent their _entire lives_ trying to learn how to make life by using alchemy. But, while they were very smart, they were also very foolish. Alchemy can't create life. It just isn't possible… But," Ed said, his eyes starting to get foggy, "_We_ created life, together. We accomplished what no alchemist has ever been able to do, and will never be able to do. Us, together, became _one_ and then created these children. And, I love them both more than anything."

Wendy blinked back tears after hearing those words. Then, she couldn't hold it in anymore. So, tears streamed down her cheeks, and she buried her face into Ed's bare chest.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, stroking the back of her head. His heart ached. He hated when she cried, although it wasn't very often.

She didn't respond for awhile, but then lifted her head, and looked into his golden eyes.

Wendy then lifted her cold, automail arm and touched his cheek.

"Thank you, Ed. Thank you for making me whole again. I felt broken for so long. For many years, I thought that I didn't have to ability to love anymore. I didn't know _how_ to love someone. Then, I met you. You showed me so much kindness, and you were able to understand me like no one else ever has. You fixed my broken Fullmetal heart. I'm so glad that I fell in love with you, and then began to build this amazing family with you…"

Ed smiled, and tears stung his eyes, eventually a few cascaded down his face. "You're amazing." He murmured.

He tilted her chin up, and their lips met again. Even though they were now married and had two children, whenever they kissed it _still_ sent warm, excited tingles throughout their bodies.

They then snuggled up under the covers, with both their children lying between them.

"I love you, Ed."

"I love you more, Wendy."

* * *

_The End._


End file.
